Nowadays, people around the world are seeing a dramatic decline in the number of hours they sleep. For example, in a recent survey done by The Better Sleep Council, more than 75% of teenagers reported that they get 7 or less hours of sleep each night. This is a far cry from the 8-10 hours that doctors recommend. Not only is sleep decreasing, but our sleep schedule is also prone to being disrupted. This can result in many psychological consequences which will impact human health. Therefore, it is essential to learn about circadian rhythm - Our body’s internal clock system. In this blog, I will be discussing what circadian rhythm is, how it impacts human health, solutions to have a better sleep schedule, and some personal experiences.
What is Circadian Rhythm:
The term circadian rhythm is derived from the Latin words, Circa (About) and Diem (day). Therefore, we can conclude that it has something to do with About a Day Rhythm. In short, circadian rhythm is your body’s internal 24-hour sleep/wake schedule. Think of it as an alarm clock... without the snooze button of course!
How does it work?
There are a lot of complicated and neurological aspects related to this topic. Due to this, I will briefly expand on how it works.
Cortisol is a hormone that makes you more alert, hence the reason why more of it is produced in the morning to keep you awake.
Melatonin is a hormone that makes you drowsy, hence the reason why more of it is produced at night to ensure you go to sleep on time.
When the sun starts to go down, your eyes sense the darkness and automatically send a signal to your brain that it is time to go to sleep. This is why humans tend to feel sleepy during sunset.
A part of your brain which is called the hypothalamus is vital in circadian rhythm. It releases the necessary hormones according to the time of day to assist with your sleep/wake schedule.
How it Impacts Human Health:
Studies have shown that a healthy circadian rhythm will result in:
Improved coordination and focus
A stronger immune system
You will be able to digest food smoothly without problems
Better cognitive abilities
Better physical performances
A happier mood
On the other hand, studies have shown that a disrupted circadian rhythm will result in:
Frequent impulsive behaviour
You will gradually gain weight
Harder to have a full sleep and to fall asleep faster
You will feel fatigued or drowsy during the day
Lack of focus and trouble concentrating
Less stability in your mood and emotions
My Personal Experiences:
Back in middle school, I was one of the many kids that did not know what circadian rhythm is. Unfortunately, this had a lot of disadvantages for me because I didn’t know why my body behaves a certain way. Personally, I think it is important for every individual to have some form of knowledge regarding questions to problems they have with themselves. Whether it be a little knowledge or a lot, it does not matter as long as you are aware of what is going on.
As a young teen, not knowing the term circadian rhythm, impacted me in several ways. First of all, I was going to sleep late at around 12:30 AM and I had to wake up for school at around 7 AM on a daily basis. This meant that I only had 6 and a half hours of sleep! Over time, I felt drowsy and I found myself yawning more often than I used to which was strange to me. However, I didn’t see it as a big deal and simply ignored the symptom. Afterwards, I realized that I continuously felt tired and had little to no energy when playing sports or solving math problems. I was simply exhausted from all those hours accumulating from my lost sleep. Consequently, an event occurred later that changed my life forever.
One day, I woke up feeling weird. There are simply no words to explain how I was feeling at the moment. This is when I decided to search up and investigate the problem that I have been having for quite a while now. I came upon a term named circadian rhythm, however, I discarded it because I felt it was irrelevant to what I wanted to figure out (I didn’t know what circadian rhythm was at the time, so don’t blame me!) After scrolling through countless websites, the term circadian rhythm appeared more and more. My gut feeling told me that my issue had to relate to this very term.
After researching circadian rhythms, I gained a more clear understanding of my issue. Over the next few weeks, I worked hard to have a consistent sleep schedule in order to fix my circadian rhythm. These are some of the tips that I used to not correct my disrupted circadian rhythm:
Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day. By constantly keeping a habit of going to sleep at a certain time each day, your body will naturally feel drowsy around that time making it easier to fall asleep faster.
Limit your exposure to artificial light after sunset. Our bodies naturally produce melatonin (a sleep hormone) after we sense darkness. By exposing ourselves to light, we delay the production of it.
Avoid having heavy meals before bed. Our bodies waste a lot of energy when digesting food. This is why it is harder to go to sleep on a full meal.
Cross out naps out of your daily routine. When we take naps, it disrupts our circadian rhythm because we won’t feel tired at night.
Try to aim for the recommended 8 hours of sleep every day. No need for an explanation because we all know why this tip is important!
Ultimately, our circadian rhythm is essential for all of us and is a process that we must have knowledge of. It is a healthy habit to be consistent with your sleep schedule, otherwise, you might experience what I experienced! Thanks for reading my blog and I’ll see you next time!
- By Anujan Rajakumar
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