Are you getting enough sleep?
Foundational health principle: Rest and recovery
Since the beginning of human civilisation, we have lived by the cycle of the sun and moon. We have an internal body clock that is dependent on light signals to release different hormones depending on whether its day or night. These hormones regulate most of the functions of our body. This cycle of day and night is called the Circadian cycle or rhythm.
Day time is when we should be up and doing the work of the day, and night time is when we are meant to sleep, rest, recover and rebuild. Only recently, in the last few hundred years has that changed. Many people’s lifestyles now involve being awake at night and sleeping during the day, either due to work commitments or because of social / lifestyle choices.
What is the natural circadian cycle?
When any light stimulates your skin or eyes, your body thinks it’s morning, so it releases cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone (light is a form of electromagnetic stress) it’s the up and go hormone, the action hormone. It prepares the body for movement, work etc. anything needed for survival. With the rising sun, our cortisol levels naturally peak in mid-morning, then gradually decrease as the day goes on. As the sun sets, cortisol drops off significantly, which allows for the release of melatonin to prepare us for sleep. If we follow the natural circadian cycle and go to sleep at night, the body releases rest and repair hormones. Between the hours of 10pm and 2am our body goes through physical repair, after 2am it performs mental and nervous system repair.
Disrupted circadian (sleep/wake) cycle
Having the odd late night or sleep during the day is ok if your body is healthy enough to handle it. The issues come when your sleep/wake cycles are out of sync all the time. If you continually go to bed at say 12pm, you are missing out on 2 hours of physical recovery time. Furthermore, cortisol takes hours to clear from the body, so until it’s gone you can’t release your other repair hormones. This then disrupts your mental/nervous system repair time as well.
This leads to nagging injuries, digestive issues, headaches, personality/mood disturbances etc. If not addressed these become chronic. Disrupted circadian cycle can also cause adrenal fatigue which may show up as chronic fatigue syndrome and viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
How can I improve my sleep/wake cycle?
- Get to sleep by 10.30. Not go to bed at 10.30
- Make the room as dark as possible – any light can disrupt your sleep
- Avoid stimulants such as coffee, sugar, alcohol, nicotine after lunch time
- Minimise exposure to bright lights for at least 2 hours before bed. This includes TV and any other screens as they emit light into your eyes, stimulating cortisol release
- If work commitments limit your sleeping at night, make sure you optimise the other foundational principles of health such as;
- Eat right for your metabolic type
- Drink plenty of water during the day
- Exercise daily. It is optimal to exercise in the first half of the day. Exercising at night can also increase the release of cortisol
Yours in good health
Brad Corbett
Osteopath
Personal trainer
Holistic exercise & lifestyle coach