Balanced Circadian Rhythms Are The Key To Consistently Sound Sleep
Today’s Topic Highlights
Sleep is the body’s chief means of physical and mental restoration. In spite of this, sleep is rarely given an equal nod of importance to diet and exercise in regards to good health.
The key to getting a good night’s sleep lies in having a balanced circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are the 24 hour sleep-wake cycles exhibited by plants, animals, and humans.
The specific time you go to bed plays a big role in sleep quality. 7-9 hours of sleep is only maximally beneficial when it takes place during an appropriate window of time.
Nightly sleep and daily action are governed by the hormones melatonin and cortisol. These hormones share an inverse relationship. When secreted properly, this dual mechanism enables us to stay maximally productive during the day and maximally rested through the night.
Establishing healthy circadian rhythms and balancing their corresponding hormones starts with four simple things. Getting to bed by a reasonable hour, avoiding caffeine after noon, dimming the lights after sunset, and avoiding all devices within a half hour of bed.
Sleep is the body’s chief means of physical and mental restoration. Without sleep, we end up running our tank on empty. It is a biological necessity that is essential for good health and daily function. Sleep recharges the single most vital component to all life and health – energy.
Most of the attention paid to health and fitness focuses on diet and exercise. Sleep is rarely, if ever, given an equal nod of importance. Yet without it our quality of life can head south very quickly. The speed and connectedness of today’s world is well beyond what our bodies and minds are evolutionarily designed to handle. As a result, we are becoming increasingly worn down and wound up. This makes deep, restorative sleep more important than ever.
The key to getting a good night’s sleep lies in having a balanced circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are the 24 hour sleep-wake cycles exhibited by plants, animals, and humans. Life on Earth is functionally adapted to the rotation of the planet. In the daytime, nature’s “lights” are on. At nighttime, nature’s “lights” are off. The sleep-wake cycles of humans naturally follow this pattern and are grounded to their present physical location. That’s why we experience jet lag after traveling across time zones.
Understanding the link between circadian rhythms and hormones is critically important. Circadian rhythms strongly influence our hormones. Both strongly influence our sleep quality. Almost all sleep related issues can be traced to hormonal and circadian imbalances.
This is why an early and consistent bedtime is the first principle of healthy sleep. The body predicts and prepares the release of certain hormones based on what time you habitually go to bed and wake up. Circadian rhythms are like the rhythms of songs. In the same way that a drummer can either make or break a song depending on how closely they stay on beat, circadian rhythms can either make or break our sense of well-being depending on how closely aligned they are with nature.