Daily rhythms are essential to keeping your body functioning like a well-tuned clock. This concept isn’t exclusive to humans; it’s true for plants, animals, and even insects. Many body processes follow a 24-hour cycle, including:
- Hormones
- Blood Pressure
- Blood Sugar
- Immune Function
- Detoxification
- Digestion
These cycles are collectively known as the circadian rhythm. At the heart of this system is the master circadian clock located in the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Additionally, there are self-regulating clocks in various organs like the gut and liver.
Circadian Disruption: What Happens When Our Rhythm is Off
When we disrupt these natural rhythms by eating, exercising, sleeping, or using screens at times that don’t align with our internal clocks, we experience what’s known as circadian disruption. This can manifest in several ways, such as:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Trouble staying asleep
- Waking up groggy
- Mid-day energy crashes
- Feeling tired but wired
Circadian disruption doesn’t just affect sleep; it can also impact your mood, metabolism, hormones, and digestion. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, your external daily rhythms might be out of sync with your internal body clock.
Common Causes of Circadian Disruption
While many people know that working night shifts can disrupt your body clock, here are five other lesser-known causes:
1️. Sleeping in on weekends: If you wake up to an alarm during the week but sleep in on weekends, you’re essentially causing social jet lag. This constant shifting between time zones can do more harm than good.
2️. Being a night owl: While being a night owl might seem like a harmless personality trait, studies show that night owls are more prone to circadian disruption and are at higher risk for conditions like diabetes.
3️. Poor diet: Both the types of food you eat and when you eat them can disrupt the patterns of gut microbiota, which in turn affect the circadian clocks in your gut. Align your eating patterns with your body’s natural rhythms for better digestion and blood sugar regulation.
4. Alcohol consumption: Chronic alcohol consumption can alter the liver’s clock and create a mismatch with your central circadian rhythm. Even small amounts of alcohol, especially when combined with other factors like night shifts, can cause disruption.
5️. Working indoors The 24-hour light-dark cycle is a powerful external influence on our body clocks. Working under artificial light deprives your body of the benefits of natural light. Taking outdoor breaks or using light-therapy lamps can help.
Strategies to Improve Your Circadian Rhythm
If you’re struggling with sleep or energy levels, circadian disruption might be the culprit. Here are some ways to realign your lifestyle with your internal body clock:
Get natural daytime light
Exposing yourself to bright light shortly after waking can help you feel more alert during the day and fall asleep more easily at night.
Consider light therapy
Light therapy boxes emit light that simulates sunshine indoors. Using them in the morning can support energy, mood, and circadian rhythm regulation.
Shut down screens at night
Blue light from screens suppresses melatonin just when it should be rising. Aim to reduce screen time before bed to help maintain a natural sleep cycle.
Try intermittent fasting
Aligning your eating patterns with your body’s daily rhythms can support better digestion and blood sugar management. Restricting your eating window to certain hours of the day can help.
Balancing Hormones for Better Circadian Rhythm
Light and dark exposure aren’t the only ways to influence your circadian rhythm. Two key hormones, melatonin and cortisol, also regulate your daily rhythms. These hormones respond to the light-dark cycle, foods we eat, and supplements we take.
Here’s how these hormones naturally fluctuate:
Morning: Cortisol rises to make us alert and energized (melatonin is at its lowest).
Night: Melatonin rises to make us relaxed and sleepy (cortisol falls to its lowest).
Some people with circadian disruption lose this natural hormone fluctuation. Their cortisol might stay low all day, rise at night, or their melatonin might not rise high enough. Testing can identify these issues, and supplements can support natural rhythms.
Supporting Hormone Balance with Supplements
Here are some examples of supplements that can help:
Melatonin: Taken at night to support sleep.
Phosphatidylserine: Taken at night to support a healthy cortisol pattern.
Adaptogenic herbs (like ginseng): Taken during the day to support the daily cortisol rhythm.
This information is educational and not prescriptive. If you struggle with energy or sleep and want to support your circadian rhythm, work with a qualified practitioner. By understanding and aligning with your body’s natural rhythms, you can improve your overall health and well-being.
