The Circadian Rhythm
Your circadian rhythm is the rhythmic pulse and flow from which your body pulls a sense of balance and safety. Although you yourself may not feel drawn to the concept of living every day on a sort of calculated clock, your inner systems would be grateful to you for it. When we aren’t sleeping well, it can negatively impact our menstrual cycles in a way that manifests as cramps, short or long cycles, or unpredictable menses.
Safety is found in routine. This is not to say your entire day every day needs to look identical, but there are pivotal times that should be as mirrored as possible - waking and sleeping. Sunrise and sunset, to be more specific with it. Think for a moment on how our hormones are on a seemingly natural clock of their own as well. We do not have to consciously map out and tell our brain to enter each cycle, there is a rhythm. Once we learn to fall more into tune with all the rhythms and flows of nature and our bodies, everything tends to smooth out.
Nature’s Intended Cycle
Upon waking, our brains need the trigger of sunlight to be absorbed through our eyes and begin serotonin production . At night, the opposite is true. We require darkness and the absence of sunlight in order to trigger the production of melatonin from our pineal gland.
At midnight, your cortisol (stress hormone) is naturally going to be at its lowest. If you are feeling wired and your heart is racing at this hour while you toss and turn in bed, it is a fairly good indication that your circadian rhythm is off. This can look like not enough sunlight in the morning, too much artificial light at night, unmanaged stress, poor sleep hygiene, and conditions that can contribute to poor quality sleep.
Cortisol secretion gently begins to rise as we wake up to give us that boost of energy we need to pull out of the groggy melatonin state. This is when you should ideally be getting up and going outside for at least 15 minutes to expose yourself to natural sunlight, so that a proper amount of this hormone is triggered to release. By mid-morning you should be feeling alert and ready to start your hardest work of the day, whether that be physical or cognitive. Once nightfall hits, our melatonin secretion begins and the cycle begins over again.
When we try to disrupt this natural circadian rhythm, we can run into problems. There is going to be major resistance in the form of headaches, eye strain, irregular energy levels throughout the day, disrupted menstrual cycles, insomnia, anxiety, loss of or increase of appetite, and more.
The sun in the sky rises and sets for a reason. When you hear birds singing through your window and squirrels scurrying up the trees at the crack of dawn they don’t just have more energy than you. In fact, if they really wanted to sleep in, they could, considering they don’t have a 9-5 to clock in to. But the kicker is that they don’t want to. They rise with the sun because it is subconscious. It is a beautiful mechanism. Flowers bloom in the sun and curl their petals over in the night. Animals go into hiding at dusk you can probably find your own cat nestled up somewhere far before you even brush your teeth. They have an inner knowing. We have this too. We are a part of nature all the same, and the more we relax into this, the more in tune we will feel.
Focus on Sleep & Hormones
In order to synch our bodies to the natural rising and setting of the sun, we must focus on our sleep schedule! Getting the infamous 8 hours is not the only matter of importance here. When we lie down at night and get out of bed in the morning is what truly affects us. Melatonin and cortisol determine our sleep wake cycle and are heavily impacted by light exposure, with melatonin production being shown to be directly suppressed by excessive artificial light exposure
Women report insomnia 1.5-2x more often than men, most often in luteal phase and especially in those who suffer from PMDD
TSH cycles on a 24 hour clock and is very sensitive. A lack of sleep causes chronically high TSH. Naturally, it rises before sleep and progressively declines throughout the night
High estrogen levels are shown to cause lower levels of melatonin production
Melatonin receptors and estrogen and progesterone receptors are found together throughout the brain and periphery.
Melatonin was found in human ovarian follicular fluid, which may protect the oocyte from oxidative stress during ovulation. Exogenous melatonin is actually used for this purpose in IVF, which shows high improvement in embryo quality and success, especially in women with PCOS
Fertility is affected in less direct ways as well: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), short sleep duration, and circadian disruption are all known to result in glucose intolerance and insulin resistance
Focus on Light Exposure & Hormones
Proper melatonin production is only half the battle in this synching journey. Bright light (sun!) exposure in the morning is critical to health in so many more ways than are given proper appreciation. Specifically, our hormone health, happy periods, and fertility.
Levels of prolactin, LH, and FSH were increased significantly with bright light exposure and along with number of ovulatory cycles
Morning exposure to bright light in the follicular phase is shown to be of utmost importance in stimulating production of reproductive hormones, promoting ovary follicle growth, and increases ovulation
Lesions of SCN (central circadian pacemaker in our brain) and mutations of core clock genes resulted in LH surge and altered estrous cycle. The SCN has progesterone and estrogen receptors!
Genetic altering or altering of light-dark cycle to mimic shift work or jet lag affected fertility and successful pregnancy markedly
Night shift workers have been shown to have shorter menstrual cycles and take over 12 months to conceive (marker for poor fertility)
45 minutes of light pulses soon after waking was shown to increase LH, prolactin, and FSH
Ways to Support Sleep, Waking, and Balance
I hope I have shined a light now on how important this topic is. There is a term, in fact, called “Mal-illumination” coined by Dr. John Ott, claiming that we are beings malnourished of natural light. We are not outside enough, and when we are inside we are bombarded with artificial light that tricks and confuses our brain’s sleep-wake cycle.
This is not hopeless though! There are ways to support every aspect of this rhythm that our bodies so deeply crave.
Focus on getting in bed between 9-11pm and picking a wake up time that you can stick to, even on weekends. It is not possible to “make up for lost sleep” on the weekends that you sacrificed during the work week. Your body is not a bank, it needs steady balance each day
Let the sun shine on your face and as much exposed skin for 15 minutes each morning. If you are able to pair this with a walk, that would be ideal. I know this is easier in the summer, so even an open window can help
Supplement herbs for sleep such as GABA, l-theanine, Valerian, Passionflower, Lavender, Chamomile, Holy Basil, and California poppy - always check in with your doctor before adding new supplements or herbs to your routine
Limit caffeine in the morning until after you have had water and a balanced meal. This will help keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day which in turn will help you fall asleep!
I know this is preached but stay off your phone before bed, or at least switch your screen to red mode after sunset
I have found Ra Optics blue light blocking glasses to be immensely helpful, they make both daytime and nighttime lenses and block over 95% of blue light emitted from screens
Support your gut health. Studies have found that your circadian rhythm plays a role in maintaining your microbiome balance! As we know, this has a direct link to hormone health. Jet lag, insomnia, and shift work have been found to cause imbalance in gut microbiome with an increase of bacteria directly linked to obesity and diabetes
Eat balanced meals and snacks throughout the day (adequate proteins and fats paired with carbs) to support blood sugar and reduce instances of waking up in the middle of the night hungry
Find a daily stress relieving practice or technique and stick with it!
If you’re interested in diving deeper into your health & wellbeing, click here to schedule a free discovery call with Dr. Paria!
