Circadian rhythm is your body’s natural, internal 24-hour cycle that determines when you sleep and eat, your body temperature and when crucial hormones are released.
This body clock is regulated mainly by exposure to light and darkness. But eating habits, stress, activity, and temperature also play important roles.
So, does winter mess up circadian rhythm? The answer is yes.
During the shorter and darker days of winter, you get less exposure to sunlight, which results in less production of serotonin, your feel-good neurotransmitter and more production of sleep hormone melatonin.
This leads to feeling sluggish and slightly depressed hours before bed-time.
In a nutshell, your circadian rhythm depends on a regular routine. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, timing your meals, managing light exposure and stress is the way to go.
Here are a 10 ways to re-calibrate your circadian rhythm for better winter sleep.
Your summer schedule is not well suited for winter. To align it with the shorter and darker days of winter, you may want to consider going to bed earlier. Tweak your bed time and waking time by 15-30 minutes each day. Similarly, workout earlier in the day, avoid late dinners and move your screen time up.
Sunlight is the key to managing your circadian rhythm. Make sure you get around 15 minutes of sunlight exposure early in the day to signal to your brain that it’s time to wake up. On cloudy grey days, use a light therapy box to get the same affect.
Limit your screen time around 2 hours before bed-time and dim the lights around your home to signal to the brain that it’s time to wind down.
Meal times and metabolism are major factors in well-managed circadian rhythms. Imagine a big clock in the brain and smaller clocks in your digestive organs. While your brain may be winding down, digestion keeps the stomach and its friends wide awake and actively working. This misaligns the two clocks and prevents you from falling asleep.
So, eat your breakfast early after waking in the morning and avoid late dinners.
Sleep is ruled over by its hormone of melatonin, which is released by the pineal gland in the brain close to bed-time.
Caffeine disrupts the secretion of melatonin and thereby disturbs the circadian rhythm. Which is why its best to keep your coffee rituals several hours away from your bed-time.
On the other hand, drinking matcha, green tea, or chamomile tea can help soothe your nerves and relax you before bed.
Early morning exercise helps the body wake up and shifts the circadian rhythm earlier. Late night exercise has the opposing effect.
In winter, try to get exercise in the morning or afternoon. You can also combine this with outdoor exposure during day hours to feel active.
Create an exercise routine and stick to it. Consistency matters more than intensity in this case. The more you stick to routines, the more your circadian rhythm settles in place.
If your feel depressed during winter, trying seeing the longer nights as "me time" and do something that you enjoy. Maybe read a book or draw. Or use the time for spiritual practices like praying.
Use the last two waking hours to wind down. Light candles or lamps and turn off the big white lights. Get your thoughts out with journaling, and relax by listening to a soothing podcast, or meditating.
When you get in bed, try progressive muscle relaxing or breathing exercises to relax and fall asleep.
Winter can make you sluggish earlier in the evening than summer, hindering your will to step out and hang out with anyone.
But your interactions with other people act as a secondary circadian cue. Socializing regularly can serve as another anchor for your routine. So find activities that you can enjoy in winter with your friends and family and make time for them.
People tend to sleep in during the weekends in winter.
Getting extra sleep during day hours can distrub the circadian rhythm and make you more sleepy during the weekdays as well. So maintain the same sleep routine as your weekdays and stay active.
Consider supplementing your diet with sleep boosting agents like melatonin, magnesium, or protein precursor L-theanine, but only after talking to your doctor.
While these alone can't reset your circadian rhythm, they can relx the nervous sytem and facilitate the sleep signals when light cues and routines are disturbed by winter.
Winter can disrupt the way your body normally functions. smaller days and less exposure to sunlight throw the circadian rhythm off.
But small cues can make al the difference. Getting sunlight early in the day, limiting white light exposure at night, regular meal times and stress management will re-calibrate your circadian rhythm for better winter sleep.
