Reset Your Circadian Rhythm
Let's talk sleep! At the end of last year, sooooo many of my clients felt their body clock or sleep/wake cycle was out of sync. Your circadian rhythm is your body's 24-hour internal clock that regulates how energetic and alert you are or how tired you are throughout the day. Clients were finding they were exhausted around 8-9 pm, but if they continued to stay up, they would get a second wind and not get to sleep until VERY late. Like after midnight, then the next day as the alarm rolled around they were so exhausted in the morning. These were some clear signs their circadian rhythm was out of sync. Your circadian rhythm is controlled by a region of the brain that is sensitive to light, which explains why we are most awake and energetic throughout the day. As the sun begins to go down, our energy starts to reduce, and we begin to feel more sleepy. If we stay up late, use electronic devices at night, work shift work or even change time zones it can affect our circadian rhythm. Now shifting time zones isn’t happening much in 2020, with a potential increase in 2021 but I don't think we will be flying overseas anytime soon. However, I do think we are staying up later and being on our devices so much more, but there are steps we can take to reset your circadian rhythm.
Try your best to keep bed times consistent
I suggest trying to get to bed before 9pm and I strongly suggest doing this for a minimum 2 weeks to really allow your body to re calibrate. With this, have a good bedtime routine. After dinner sit down to a nice relaxing cup of herbal tea, a square of dark chocolate, shower and just breathe. Some days we are soooo busy we don't actually get a chance to breathe. So if you can get into a routine where you begin to wind down after dinner it is going to help dramatically. Now for everyone, it will be different. You may like to read a book, do some yoga or just watch some trashy TV. See what works for you.
Sleep with your curtains open
This is a game changer!! This really helps to regulate our body clock with the light. We have curtains and blinds that are so good now it can stay dark nearly all day. The sunlight in the morning is a key factor to re regulate your body clock. You don't have to have your curtains or blinds completely open but if you can leave about 30cm of light that will be ample to assist our body waking. We should also hop out of bed when we wake in the mornings and go for a walk when it’s light, or meditate in the sunlight because this will further help. Really try to avoid waking up and going straight on your phone and begin scrolling for the day because the artificial light from your phone screen can impact your cognitive function for the day.
Limit screen use at night
Now I did say trashy TV in step 1 but we can still limit our screen time as much as possible at night. Turn your computer off and switch off from doing those extra few hours of work, make sure you have the blue light blocking feature active on your phone and if you MUST use screens wear some blue light blockers.
Head off to bed with a sleep story or meditation
When you go to bed, it's time for sleep. Not sure watching TV, Netflix or scrolling on social media. Head into bed pop a sleep story or mediation on to help you wind down further and have a better quality sleep overall. There's two apps I love: Insite Timer (it's free) or Calm (an annual or monthly fee).
I hope these tips are helpful for you, I generally recommend following this for a minimum 2 weeks. If you can follow this for 2 weeks you will be able to see the best results. Imagine waking up in the morning and feeling refreshed and energised?? I would love to hear how you go.
If you are still struggling with your sleep and would like to discuss things further with Hayley. Book a free discovery call and we can look deeper into your individual case. PS I have tried this personally and it definitely works
