April 20, 2020

The importance of rhythm.... (written during lockdown April 2020)

Not the type that I've tried to harness whilst desperately trying to prove to my daughters that I CAN do the dance to "you'll never have a friend like me" on TikTok, but the natural one that controls our inner biological clock.....

The circadian rhythm

If you’ve ever noticed that you tend to feel energised and drowsy around the same times every day, you have your circadian rhythm to thank (although this may also have something to do with blood sugar – that’s a whole other blog!). Your circadian rhythm is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of your brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. It's also known as your sleep/wake cycle.

A part of your brain (your hypothalamus if you want to get technical) controls your circadian rhythm but other factors such as light and dark can also impact on it. When it’s dark at night, your eyes send a signal to the hypothalamus that it’s time to feel tired. Your brain, in turn, sends a signal to your body to release the hormone melatonin, which makes your body tired. That’s why your circadian rhythm tends to coincide with the cycle of daytime and night-time (and why it’s so hard for shift workers to sleep during the day and stay awake at night)

Routine

Your circadian rhythm works best when you have regular sleep habits, like going to bed at night and waking up in the morning around the same times from day to day (including weekends). When things disrupt this cycle e.g. staying up late to binge watch 'Grey’s Anatomy' (okay, I know I’m so late coming to this), having lie ins because you’ve been up late, talking to friends on 'House Party', drinking alcohol, having too much light in your bedroom, too much screen time, the list is endless – this cycle can be disrupted and you could get ill.

Health and immunity

Experts warn that ignoring our circadian rhythm may contribute to a range of diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatly liver disease, depression and anxiety. Research is starting to find that the immune response function varies according to the time of day and this in turn may impact on when medication is taken so even conventional medicine is seeing how important this rhythm is!

Lockdown

I’m writing this as I expect a lot of us will be doing quite a few of the above (even when we’re not on lockdown) so now is a great time to try and sort your rhythm out. Good sleep hygiene e.g. no screen time an hour before bed, bedroom dark as possible and cool, going to bed and getting up at the same time every day would be a great place to start. In addition, thinking about when and what you eat to support your immune system is just as important so that it can do its job at the time of day its been used to over the years of evolution....

Now back to my sad Mum dancing.

Other recent Blogs

November 8, 2021
Case study: "I live off laxatives yet still struggle with going to the loo"

Client, female aged 37, contacted me after she'd had an almond croissant and a coffee that morning and was then in agony and couldn't do her jeans up (I resonated with her instantly as this was what used to happen to me....). During the initial consultation she revealed that her main health concerns were bloating, […]

Read More
November 3, 2021
Case Study: "Suffered with diarrhoea from childhood"

Female, aged 66, contacted me after struggling with IBS-D for most of her life. She had recently tried a low-FODMAP diet guided by a dietician but was not finding any real relief so decided during lockdown to try and get to the bottom of what could be causing her symptoms. The client was starting to […]

Read More
October 13, 2021
Pimp your porridge

Start your day with a nutritious and filling slow-burning carbohydrate that is porridge. Choose organic jumbo oats to make it with and soak overnight to speed up cooking time in the morning. As they are less processed than other oats (you know the ones I mean that come in little handy sachets that you can […]

Read More
See all blogs
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram