How to Support Your Circadian Rhythm for Better Health

When your lifestyle is at odds with your internal body clock (your circadian rhythm), it can cause everything from fatigue to insomnia, anxiety, depression, weight gain, and more. 

Whether or not you’ve disrupted your circadian rhythm yet or not, anybody can begin TODAY to live in better alignment with their circadian rhythms. 

Here’s how:

☀️ Get Natural Daytime Light

The most powerful external influence on your circadian rhythm is the 24-hour light-dark cycle. If you expose yourself to bright light shortly after waking in the morning, you will feel more alert during the day and fall asleep more easily at night.  

💡 Consider Light Therapy

Light therapy boxes or lamps emit light that simulates sunshine indoors (without the sunburn effects). If used in the morning, they may help to support energy and mood while resetting the circadian rhythm or hormones, like melatonin. 

📱 Shut Down Screens at Night

Humans evolved with dark nights, until electricity was invented about a century ago. Screens are especially problematic at night because of the blue light they emit—suppressing melatonin just when it should be on the rise.  

🍏 Try Intermittent Fasting

Our digestion and ability to manage blood sugar levels fluctuate on a daily rhythm. Studies suggest that restricting the eating window to certain hours of the day may align with our internal metabolic rhythms and support healthy metabolism. 

I have one more post coming your way on the topic of circadian disruption and it’s all about balancing the rhythm of our hormones with supplements. 

Be sure to watch for that post to drop soon!

#circadianrhythm #circadiandisruption #lighttherapy #intermittentfasting

5 Causes of Circadian Disruption You May Not Know

Feeling tired but wired…sleepless nights…trouble waking up?

Any of these can be signs of circadian disruption—meaning your external daily rhythms are out of sync with your internal body clock.

We can correct the problem, but first we need to know the cause, right?

Most people know that working nights will mess with your body clock, but here are 5 other causes of circadian disruption you may not know:

1️⃣ Sleeping In On Weekends

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if you wake to an alarm 5 days a week and sleep until noon on the other 2, your body feels like you’re constantly traveling between time zones. It’s called social jet lag and can do more harm than good. 

2️⃣ Being a Night Owl

Lots of people think being a night owl is just a personality trait like anything else. Unfortunately, studies show that night owls are more likely to experience circadian disruption and are at a higher risk for some conditions, like diabetes. 

3️⃣ Poor Diet

Both the types of food you choose and the timing of eating can alter the patterns of gut microbiota, which then influence circadian clocks in the gut. Digestion and blood sugar regulation follow a daily rhythm, so your eating patterns should too. 

4️⃣ Alcohol Consumption

Chronic alcohol consumption alters the timing of the liver clock and causes a mismatch with your central circadian rhythm. This can happen with even small amounts of alcohol when combined with other variables, like working at night. 

5️⃣ Working Indoors

The most powerful external influence on our body clocks is the 24-hour light-dark cycle. If you work in artificial light, your body misses out on the benefits of full-spectrum natural light. Solutions could include taking outdoor breaks or investing in a light-therapy lamp. 

The bottom line? If you struggle with your energy level or sleep, there’s a chance circadian disruption might be at play. 

Give us a call for more info on how we can explore the root cause. 

5 Signs Your Circadian Rhythm Might Be Off

Daily rhythms keep your body ticking like a clock. 

It’s true for morning glories, crickets, birds, dogs, and yes—humans too. 

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of body processes that follow a 24-hour clock:

✔️ Hormones

✔️ Blood Pressure

✔️ Blood Sugar

✔️ Immune Function

✔️ Detoxification

✔️ Digestion

That’s right—nearly every body process has a daily cycle. 

⏰ It’s called the circadian rhythm ⏰ 

We have a master circadian clock in a specialized area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) plus self-regulating clocks in the gut, liver, and other internal organs. 

BUT…do you know what happens when we eat, exercise, sleep, or stare at our phones at times that are out of sync with our internal clock?

It’s not good. 

When our rhythm gets out of whack, it’s called Circadian Disruption. It can look like:

✖️ Unable to fall asleep

✖️ Difficulty staying asleep

✖️ Waking up groggy

✖️ Crashing mid-day

✖️ Feeling tired but wired

Not only that, but circadian disruption can upset your mood, metabolism, hormones, and digestion too. 

👀 Watch for my upcoming posts where I’ll be sharing some surprising causes of circadian disruption and what you can do to fix it.