Struggling to get out of bed, lacking motivation, or feeling more tired throughout the day than normal? While these feelings are less than favorable, the good news is it’s not just you! As the seasons change, there’s actually a biochemical response occurring in our body, affecting everything from mood to sleep. In response to shorter days and reduced exposure to sunlight, our circadian rhythm becomes imbalanced, which might be why the beginning of fall has thrown a curveball at your usual snooze routine!
Yep! The colder temperatures, fewer hours of sunlight, and more time spent indoors can deeply affect your circadian rhythm, aka, your sleep-wake cycle. So as you venture into the cooler weather, here’s what you need to know!
RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Sleep
Circadi-What? Here’s Why Your Body Clock Matters
Let’s back up a minute, your circadian… what? If this concept is new to you, not to worry — we’ll break down everything you need to know about this important cycle and how it can help you (bio) hack your health! Your circadian rhythm (sometimes known as your sleep-wake cycle or biological clock) is an internal 24-hour cycle that operates based on environmental cues like sunlight.
These internal cues keep your body in balance by controlling your metabolic processes. How you ask? Well, our sleep-wake cycle regulates everything from body temperature and hormones (such as melatonin and cortisol) to metabolism and even mood. When your cycle is in sync, all of these processes run as smooth as butter — you’ll typically notice that you feel your best! But when your circadian rhythm is thrown out of balance (by things like less light exposure, sleep interruptions, or stress), metabolic processes can speed up or slow down, leading to an increased risk for health concerns.
Despite setting the clock back during daylight savings, light exposure decreases in the cooler months. This means shorter days, and, you guessed it — a disturbance in circadian rhythm.
And, in addition to external factors, we can’t forget about disturbances to our internal system. The biggest culprit? Stress — and it’s especially relevant with the holiday season right around the corner! The constant release of cortisol throughout the day can confuse your body into never knowing what time of day it is. This causes circadian rhythm issues, thus causing sleep issues, which cycles back into more stress.
It goes both ways. When your circadian rhythm suffers, high-stress levels follow. However, if you can work to regulate your body clock from the start, it might help to reduce some of that holiday worry and improve your coping abilities.
Some signs you may need a circadian rhythm tune-up:
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Fatigue/Exhaustion
- Lethargy
- Difficulty concentrating
- Low alertness
- Trouble with mood and emotions
- Aches & pains
- Digestion issues
Stress & Our Circadian Rhythm
Let’s talk more about stress. During times of increased stress, the constant release of cortisol throughout the day can confuse your body into never knowing what time of day it is. This causes circadian rhythm issues, thus causing sleep issues, which cycles back into more stress.
It goes both ways. When your circadian rhythm suffers, high-stress levels follow. However, if you can work to regulate your body clock from the start, it might help to reduce some of that stress.
Some signs you may need a circadian rhythm tune-up:
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Fatigue/Exhaustion
- Lethargy
- Difficulty concentrating
- Low alertness
- Trouble with mood and emotions
- Aches & pains
- Digestion issues
5 Ways Tune-Up Your Circadian Rhythm With Daylight Saving Time
Now that you know the importance of maintaining a balanced circadian rhythm, it’s probably a good idea to optimize it as much as possible! In doing so you’ll avoid a.) getting drenched in the winter blues and b.) feeling extra stressed during the holiday season.
Here are five ways to balance your circadian rhythm, especially during daylight saving time and as we head into colder weather.
#1 Prioritize Healthy Sleep Hygiene
Since it gets darker earlier, why not follow the trend yourself and just get to bed? While we technically gain an extra hour of sleep when the clocks fall back, research suggests that extra hour isn’t reflected in our snooze time. So, make sure you’re practicing healthy sleep habits and getting quality shut-eye! Aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night, but listen to your body if you need more!
Pro Tip: Maintain a consistent sleep schedule as much as possible, including on the weekends. Our body clock thrives off of routines!
#2 Get Some Sun
If you have a hard time falling asleep at a reasonable hour at night, it may be beneficial to drink your tea in the morning light or fit in a morning walk. Research shows that getting bright morning light may help with getting to bed earlier, whereas getting light exposure too late in the day can result in you not feeling ready to fall asleep until later in the evening.
If it’s too cold, you might consider getting a lamp that mimics light exposure or investing in a red light therapy device — research suggests red light therapy can combat seasonal depression and support a healthy circadian rhythm!
#3 Try a Blue Light Blocking App
Here’s the thing: stress already messes with your melatonin levels. And when you combine that with the blue light from your technology devices? It’s basically an anti-melatonin party.
In case you didn’t know, melatonin is the hormone responsible for regulating our sleep-wake cycle! So if that’s out of balance, you can take a guess at what happens — oh heyyyyyyy, sleep cycle problems.
If you don’t want to give up your late-night phone scrolling yet, at least invest in some blue light blocking glasses or even look up apps like Flux. You can also change the settings on your phone to “night mode,” where it minimizes blue light output.
#4 Do a Guided Sleep Meditation
Hard truth — most of us aren’t great at winding down in the evening. With everything going on in the world and our lives, relaxing might feel like a hard chore. It’s just easier to stress at this point!
The truth is that you have to destress and relax before your body feels safe enough to sleep, so promote some chill vibes with an activity like meditation.
Give these FitOn guided sleep meditations a try:
A favorite in our FitOn community, try this Sleep Yoga Nidra meditation with DeAndre and experience this beautiful system that’s existed for thousands of years. It’s an excellent meditation to support restorative sleep.
This meditation uses a body scan technique to calm down your nervous system so you can have the best night’s rest.
Say peace out to your day and hello to sleep with these soothing, mindful mantras focused on peace and ease.
And if you’re new to meditation, that’s cool too! We promise it’s not as intimidating as you think. If you’re struggling to shut your brain off, try these tips!
#5 Snack on Sleep-Supporting Foods
While eating specific foods can’t directly help you fall asleep faster, some foods contain high amounts of nutrients like magnesium that are associated with better snoozes.
Some of these foods include:
- Nuts: almonds, walnuts, and pistachios
- Fatty fish like salmon
- Tart cherries
- Kiwi
If you eat a balanced, whole foods diet, to begin with, you’re probably already consuming lots of sleep-well foods. Grab those healthy fats and fruits!
RELATED: The 8 Best Healthy Late Night Snacks
Level Out Your Circadian Rhythm & Enjoy Deeper Sleeps
Self-care is more important than ever before. Optimizing our sleep habits is a form of self-care so many of us can improve upon.
Thankfully, leveling out your circadian rhythm plays a huge part in wellness, so either way, you’re bound to see some benefits, such as deeper sleep and lower stress levels.
Good night & sleep tight!
