Reset Your Circadian Rhythm To Optimize Sleep And Health
If you’ve been following our Sleep Series, you should be seeing some amazing improvements in your sleep by now. This will go a long way to optimizing your long-term health.
In today’s blog you will learn:
- Do you need to reset your circadian rhythm?
- How to reset and ultimately improve your circadian rhythm
Do you know if your circadian rhythm is working well? Is it off somehow? Do you know the difference?
Circadian rhythm refers to all of the body’s processes involved in a 24-h cycle. This includes the sleep/wake cycle, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone secretion, cognitive performance, mood regulation and organ function. Hormones, the immune system, digestion and all organs all run on a timing system. ‘Circadian clock’ cells manage this timing system and are found in all cells and tissue of the body.
A disrupted circadian rhythm disturbs sleep. It can cause metabolic issues like obesity/overweight, diabetes, mood issues, cognitive issues and even cancer and other serious diseases (Adafer R, 2020).
Do You Need a Circadian Reset?
Can’t sleep, feeling off or tired? You might need a circadian reset. If you don’t consistently sleep a solid 7-9 hours through the night, every night, you probably need a reset.
Symptoms which indicate the need for a reset are:
- Can’t fall asleep / insomnia
- Can’t stay asleep
- Can’t fall back to sleep during the middle of the night or early morning
- Waking up earlier than necessary
- Can’t wake up or having unpredictable sleep-wake times
- Sleepiness during the day and needing a nap during the day
Circadian rhythm disorders affect up to 10% of adults (Kim JH, 2023). A circadian rhythm disorder is a misalignment between the circadian rhythm and the external 24-hour environment. It can be due to biological and/or behavioral factors.
Types of circadian rhythm disorders include:
- Jet lag: Due to travel, the circadian clock is off and you are not yet on the new schedule.
- Shift work disorder: Working night shifts makes it difficult to adjust circadian rhythm with the unusual sleep/ work schedule.
- Delayed sleep wake disorder: The sleep/wake schedule is later than it should be. This happens frequently in children and especially teenagers.
- Advanced sleep wake disorder: The sleep/wake schedule is earlier than normal so you go to bed earlier and wake earlier than the average person.
- Irregular sleep/wake disorder: Sleep and wake times are at disorganized and unpredictable times. This is common in people with dementia or other degenerative brain diseases.
If you see yourself in any part of this list, then it is time for a circadian rhythm reset.
Why Should we Reset the Circadian Rhythm?
There are significant benefits to having a strong circadian rhythm. A strong circadian rhythm (Adafer R, 2020):
- allows for optimal sleep
- reduces inflammation
- increases longevity
- lowers the risk of degenerative and chronic disease
- prevents metabolic issues like overweight/obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s/dementia and even cancer
Resetting the circadian rhythm can take a little time depending on the level of disruption. It can take a few days to a couple of weeks. Similar to jet lag, the body can adjust to about a 1–2-hour change in the sleep-wake cycle each day.
Take these steps to reset and get your circadian rhythm back on track:
Morning Sunlight
Light regulates melatonin, the sleep hormone, which regulates circadian rhythm. Our blog here explains melatonin, light and the circadian rhythm.
The sleep-wake cycle is most influenced by exposure to light. The retinas of the eyes process light and tell the brain whether it is day or night. Being in daylight at high intensities increases evening fatigue and improves sleep quality.
Exposure to outside light adjusts the circadian clock and is the most powerful step to take.
- Go on a morning walk or just sit outside to get morning sunlight for at least 30 minutes, ideally early in the morning.
- If going outside in the morning isn’t possible, use light therapy. Red light desk lights are a good indoor solution.
Conversely, get exposure to darkness. After sunset, do not get overexposed to too much indoor light. Keep the house dimly lit to allow for melatonin production and prepare the body for sleep.
To truly reset the circadian rhythm just using light exposure at the correct intensity and correct times, try going camping.
Camping and living according to the natural times of sunlight and darkness can very quickly reset the circadian rhythm (Stothard ER, 2017). In just a weekend, the circadian clocks of campers can shift and evening melatonin levels rise more than an hour earlier than in the days at home before going camping (Stothard ER, 2017). This shows that we can reset the circadian clock quickly.
Avoid Screens & Artificial Light at Night
The circadian rhythm is disrupted by exposure to light when it’s dark outside. Artificial light and device screens interfere with melatonin secretion. The body produces less melatonin because the light tricks it into thinking it is daytime. This can delay the timing of the circadian clock and sleep and make a good night’s sleep more difficult to achieve.
Any screens and screen-based activities will have a negative impact. This includes TVs, iPads, streaming movies, video gaming and late-night phone scrolling. Smartphone use before bedtime is linked to sleeping problems, decreased sleep efficiency, later sleep onset, poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration (Blume C, 2019).
To reset the circadian rhythm and improve sleep, reduce light exposure at night:
- Do not use bright indoor lights in the evening. Use dimming lights and try blackout curtains in the bedroom.
- Minimize use of devices and screens, TV or blue light in the evening. Make a rule to stop using electronic devices at least 1 hour before going to sleep, or after 10 pm.
- If this is not doable, then wear special blue light blocking glasses that filter out blue light. You can read more about them here.
- Wear the blue light blocking glasses for at least 1 hour before going to sleep. These blue light blocking glasses often work much better than blue light filters on phones or computers.
- Find a tech-free wind-down activity like reading a physical book, journaling, taking a warm bath, meditating, stretching or practicing some light yoga.
Work with your Chronotype
Some people are natural early birds and others are night owls. Chronotype is the body’s natural preference for when to sleep, eat and be active. The three main chronotypes are Morning, Neither and Evening-types.
Chronotype determines when you sleep, wake up and feel the most energetic. Understanding your chronotype lets you follow your ideal schedule and what feels best. Maybe you get sleepy around 9 pm and are an early bird. Or you may be a night owl who goes to bed much later and wakes up later.
Live according to your chronotype. Design your schedule around your body’s preferred sleep and wake times. Schedule activities and create a morning ritual based on chronotype. If you are a morning person, then do early morning exercise or complex work at that time. If you are a night owl, then take 30 -60 minutes after waking up for meditation, deep breathing or doing gentle stretches, to become more alert.
Keep a Consistent Schedule aligned with Chronotype
Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. This trains the circadian rhythm and improves the body’s ability to repair, recover and stay healthy. In fact, day-to-day sleep consistency is linked to less disease and mortality (Windred DP, 2023)
- Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality than sleep duration (Windred DP, 2023).
- Higher sleep regularity is associated with a 20%–48% lower risk of all-cause mortality, a 16%–39% lower risk of cancer mortality and a 22%–57% lower risk of cardiometabolic mortality (Windred DP, 2023).
- A consistent sleep schedule enhances longevity more than simply spending more time in bed (Windred DP, 2023).
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, to improve sleep quality.
Consistent Meal Schedule
Like going to sleep and waking up at the same times, eating meals at the same times is a very strong signal to the circadian rhythm.
Chrono nutrition looks at what we eat and when we eat. Inconsistent, unusual food intake patterns can disturb the circadian system, the sleep-wake cycle and physiological processes that follow the circadian rhythm (Pons-Muzzo L, 2024).
Read about chrono nutrition here, including the ideal eating schedule for sleep and circadian rhythm. Read our blog here to learn what to eat for optimal sleep.
- Eating dinner and breakfast early is associated with a lower risk of metabolic issues like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (Pons-Muzzo L, 2024).
- Eating late in the evening is associated with a higher BMI, changes in body fat, weight gain, poor ability to digest sugar, high cholesterol and is a risk factor for chronic disease (Binks H, 2020). It is also linked to less sleep (Binks H, 2020).
- A late dinner can disturb sleep via possible acid reflux, heartburn, indigestion/ poor digestion or blood sugar imbalances.
Is Eating Late a Problem?
Melatonin regulates circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycles and is released as darkness falls. As the body releases melatonin, it releases less insulin. Insulin is important to help digest glucose and the meal. Eating a meal too closely to the time of melatonin release, late in the evening, means glucose won’t be handled properly and digestion may be off (Manoogian E, 2019).
It is best to finish eating 2-4 hours before going to sleep (Binks H, 2020).
Eating too early in the evening won’t help with sleep though. Going to bed hungry can lead to drops in blood sugar during the night. This will trigger a cortisol release to raise blood sugar which increases alertness and possible waking up in the middle of the night. If you feel hungry before falling asleep, have a small snack and choose foods rich in magnesium like bananas, chickpeas, nuts and seeds.
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Exercise at the Same Times
Regular exercise promotes healthy sleep. See our blog here on how exercise can help train the circadian rhythm and help sleep.
Physical activity increases sleep drive, or the desire to sleep, and improves sleep quality. Regular moderate aerobic exercise, like walking or riding a bike, reduces time to fall asleep in adults, which leads to better sleep. Exercise during the day is the best way to fall asleep and sleep better.
But don’t exercise too late. Exercising too close to bedtime may disrupt sleep and circadian rhythms, especially for a morning person. Exercise releases stimulating substances (such as adrenaline), which can prevent sleep hours later. It also elevates body temperature, which can take hours to cool down.
Finish exercise at least 3 hours before sleeping.
If you want to wake up and go to bed earlier, try exercising in the morning 3 times a week. Even on rest days when you don’t go to the gym, light movement still helps improve sleep. For example, try strength training one day and a morning walk the following day.
Minimize Social Jet Lag
Social jet lag is when circadian rhythms and chronotype are out of alignment with your social life, work or school schedule. These obligations can make you miss your ideal bedtime and go to bed later on some nights. This throws your circadian rhythm off track.
The circadian clock needs approx. 1 day to adjust for every hour of a time shift. If bedtime keeps changing every night, the circadian clock can never readjust.
Create some boundaries to maintain a consistent schedule and prioritize sleep. Plan social events for earlier in the evening or on the weekends to maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
Caffeine
Caffeine can disturb circadian rhythm and sleep quality. Caffeine stays in the bloodstream for several hours with a half-life of 4 -6 hours for the average person. This means that up to 6 hours after caffeine consumption, half of it is still in the body. Caffeine may not completely clear the bloodstream until after 10 hours. The half-life of caffeine is related to the dose.
The clearance rate and metabolism of caffeine is based on genes and varies for each person. The CYP1A2 gene affects how quickly a person metabolizes caffeine. It codes for the liver enzyme cytochrome P450. Cytochrome P450 is responsible for 95% of caffeine metabolism in the liver (Zhang H, 2024).
A variation (or SNP) in the CYP1A2 gene can make a person a ‘slow’ or ‘fast’ caffeine metabolizer (Zhang H, 2024). A fast metabolizer processes caffeine faster and is less affected by caffeine hours later vs slow metabolizers. Slow metabolizers should cut off caffeine earlier in the day than fast metabolizers.
Drinking caffeine too late in the day makes it more difficult to sleep well. Depending on amount consumed, the half-life and a fast or slow rate of metabolism, caffeine can still be in the body in the evening or night. This can cause difficulty falling asleep, more waking up in the night, poor sleep quality and less restful sleep.
Set a caffeine cut-off time of around noon, or latest 2pm, to avoid these negative effects of caffeine on sleep. Exercise and movement help use the excess energy from caffeine and help break it down quicker. Try this if you overindulge in caffeine.
Alcohol
Alcohol can have a strong effect on sleep. One single acute event of alcohol intake can change circadian rhythms (Pattnaik H, 2022). Fortunately, the changes are transient and dose-dependent.
Drinking large amounts of alcohol before going to sleep may seem like a good idea because it helps to fall asleep quickly. But later in the night, alcohol disrupts the normal sleep architecture or structural organization of normal sleep patterns which include various sleep stages and sleep cycles (Pattnaik H, 2022). Disrupting sleep architecture can lead to poor sleep quality and increased sleep fragmentation and nighttime awakenings, which all result in a shorter total sleep time (Pattnaik H, 2022).
Alcohol’s changes to the circadian rhythm involve melatonin, cortisol and core body temperature rhythms. These changes normalize again the next morning (Meyrel M, 2020).
- Drinking too much is associated with insomnia and more severe circadian changes (Meyrel M, 2020).
- Chronic alcohol use is associated with chronic sleep disturbance (Pattnaik H, 2022).
- Alcohol consumption within 4 hours of bedtime increases sleep fragmentation and awakenings (Pattnaik H, 2022).
The circadian rhythms of cortisol and core body temperature patterns normalize about 1 month after stopping alcohol (Meyrel M, 2020). The melatonin circadian rhythm is disrupted for as long as 12 weeks of abstinence from alcohol (Meyrel M, 2020).
For optimal sleep and circadian rhythm, don’t drink alcohol late into the evening. If you do drink, stop drinking at least 3-4 hours before going to bed (Pattnaik H, 2022).
Try a Sleep Supplement
Certain supplements or herbs can help to sync circadian rhythms and optimize sleep. We wrote a blog here that outlines a number of helpful and sleep-supportive supplements.
- Melatonin is a great way to reset the circadian rhythm. Melatonin regulates the circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycle. It naturally reinforces the signal that induces sleep.
- Magnesium promotes melatonin production (Arab A, 2022). Magnesium helps to promote calmness, relieve stress and improve sleep (Arab A, 2022).
- GABA, 5HTP and glycine can all be very helpful in improving sleep. GABA calms the central nervous system, increases relaxation and sleepiness. It helps to fall asleep faster and have better quality sleep.
- 5HTP is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin. 5HTP significantly improves sleep quality and time to fall asleep.
- Glycine has a calming effect on the brain. It improves sleep quality and sleep efficacy (sleep time/in-bed time) and reduces daytime sleepiness.
Please see our blog here to get the full info on sleep-supportive supplements.
Sleeping Conditions
Set up your bedroom for the best conditions for sleeping. Keep the bedroom cool, dark and quiet to get the best sleep quality.
- Keep the bedroom temperature low. Being too hot can lead to waking up in the night. Make sure the bedding is not too heavy and is appropriate for the season. Get an air conditioner or fan if necessary.
- Make the bedroom pitch dark. A little bit of light, even from an alarm clock, will still suppress melatonin production and make it more difficult to fall asleep. Get black out curtains. Wearing an eye mask can help a lot if light in the bedroom is an issue.
- The bedroom should be very quiet. If noise is an issue, try getting a white noise machine or app on the phone to block out external noises. Try a good pair of earplugs.
Should You Ever Take a Nap?
Napping for adults is somewhat controversial. Naps may sometimes be helpful but they can also disturb the circadian rhythm and ability to sleep at night.
On the downside
A study in older adults looked at napping and the circadian rhythm. It found that circadian amplitude, or strength, of melatonin secretion was reduced in nappers, compared to non-nappers (Deantoni M, 2024).
Naps may contribute to sleep–wake cycle fragmentation. Changing the circadian sleep–wake cycle with a nap can make the sleep drive at nighttime weaker and/or reduce wakefulness during the day. These can trigger the need to sleep at times that disrupt the circadian rhythm (Deantoni M, 2024).
On the upside
A short daytime nap can improve memory consolidation and memory processing without grogginess upon waking up (Poluektov MG, 2020). A nap can restore wakefulness and promote cognitive performance and learning (Dhand R, 2006).
Even as little as 6 minutes of napping has a positive effect on memory function while a 10-minute nap can improve cognitive performance (Farhadian N, 2021).
Napping for longer than 30 minutes can decrease productivity and cause grogginess. Frequent and longer naps may be linked to higher morbidity and mortality, especially among older adults (Dhand R, 2006)
A short power nap of 30 min or less during the day can be good (Dhand R, 2006). It can help cognitive performance and is unlikely to seriously disrupt the circadian rhythm. It shouldn’t be required every day but can be helpful on days when you really feel the need.
If you aren’t getting quality sleep and suspect your circadian rhythm may be misaligned, then get in touch with us at the Medicine with Heart clinic. We can help to dial in your circadian rhythm and get your sleep on track!
SUMMARY
- A strong circadian rhythm allows for optimal sleep, reduces inflammation, increases longevity and lowers the risk of degenerative and chronic disease
- A disrupted circadian rhythm disturbs sleep and can have long term health consequences.
- If you can’t sleep, feel off or tired and don’t consistently sleep a solid 7-9 hours through the night, every night, then you need a reset.
- Take these steps to reset and get your circadian rhythm back on track:
- Morning sunlight
- Avoid screens & artificial light at night
- Work with your chronotype; your body’s natural tendency towards morning or evening type
- Keep a consistent schedule aligned with chronotype, including a consistent meal schedule
- Exercise at the same times
- Minimize social jet lag, caffeine and alcohol
- Try a sleep supplement
- Optimize sleeping conditions
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- Do you feel that you have tried many things and either nothing works, or the treatment does not hold?
- Have you been told that there is nothing that can be done to reverse your illness and you just need to manage symptoms?
- Does your illness impact your work, your family, your happiness and your social life?
We specialize in finding answers and solutions for complicated chronic illness when people feel like they have tried everything. If this sounds like you, book a free call with us to see if we are the right fit for your health goals.
Dr. Miles has spoken for the following organizations:
