Do you feel you are an early bird or a night owl?
Do you find the winter harder because it feels dark all of the time.
Do you find you have a mid afternoon slump of energy or cannot muster the enthusiasm for a night out.
Now there are all kinds of reasons for these things, but one of them is deeply connected to our circadian rhythm, to our body clocks.
Circadian rhythm
Our circadian rhythm is our internal clock. It is approximately 24 hours. It regulates our bodies systems - digestive, sleep, hormones, temperature, mood, and how alert we are.
Many of our individual cells have their own clocks too. All approximately 24 hours.
When I say 24 hours, it’s actually slightly longer, but you can reset the clock everyday by getting outside in daylight, as close as possible to your wake time.
The power of daylight
Daylight, even on the dullest day, is generally brighter than being inside under electric light.
Spending time outside in daylight after you wake can help reset that biological clock and keep your body clock ticking nicely.
How about paying attention to your day, noticing when your energy ebbs and flows, when you have greater focus and more attention, and when you just need some downtime.
I’m an early riser, getting up most days between 5:30am and 6am. But I don’t schedule anything into the 2-3pm slot most days as I know that’s when I have a real lull in energy and focus. If I plough on through I’ll pay the price later in my mood, my sleep, my energy.
Key tips to make the most of your natural rhythm
Get outside when you wake up to reset your biological clock. Do the same at lunchtime to help with the post lunch slump.
Have a regular sleep and wake time to keep your body on the same rhythm daily
Cut down on blue light in the evening (from screens of all type) or wear blue light blocking glasses.
Build rest into your day, if you need to.
Early birds - can you fit in a 20 minute downtime between 2-3pm if that’s a big lull point for you
Night owls - can you ensure a slow start to your morning, or get yourself to wake up earlier to give yourself time to adjust to wakefulness.
Schedule meetings and 1:1s according to your your most alert times of day.
Spending all day inside at your desk can hamper both your productivity and the quality of your sleep.
I recently enjoyed Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better, Live More podcast where he discussed light and circadian rhythm with Linda Geddes. You can listen to it here.
Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash