When I bought the book “The Circadian Code” I was expecting to find answers on how I could improve my sleep. What I discovered is that improved sleep is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your Circadian Rhythm and your health!
What is the Circadian Rhythm?
The Circadian Rhythm is your body’s clock system. Every cell in your body has a Circadian Rhythm. It’s no wonder I was struggling with sleep. One night I would sleep just fine. The next night it would take a couple hours to finally fall asleep. Another night I would fall asleep but wake up several times during the night. My sleep was never consistent.
I know exactly how much sleep I need to feel rested in the morning – 8 hours. That is when I naturally wake up in the morning. When I get 6 hours or less, that is when it affects me during the day.
I also know that some of my nightly habits do not contribute to my ability to fall asleep quickly. It had become our habit to watch TV before going to bed. We usually had the TV on right up until we turned off the lights to go to sleep. The bright light of the TV keeps many people from falling asleep – including me.
The other bright light that keeps me awake is the bright light of my phone. Like many people, I can sometimes get caught up in scrolling my Facebook feed or checking email before going to bed. This is still a work in progress for me but I have gotten better about using the filter on my phone at night to block the blue light, which is the light that disrupts your Circadian Rhythm.
Something else you can do is reduce the number of lights you turn on at night. If possible, use lamps instead of ceiling lights, and dimmer switches if you have them.
I don’t often eat a lot at night before going to bed, but I have a sweet tooth and sometimes a sugary snack calls to me. When I started paying more attention to what I was eating at night, I realized that almost every time I ate sugar, I wouldn’t fall asleep easily.
It’s not just sugar that affects your sleep. Any kind of night eating can disrupt your Circadian Rhythm and your sleep. Not only does it make it hard to fall asleep, but it makes it hard to stay asleep.
If you want to fall asleep easily, your core body temperature needs to cool down. But eating actually causes your core body temperature to go up because your gut needs to digest and absorb the food you just ate. So if you want to sleep better, stop eating at least 2 to 4 hours before going to bed.
This also goes for drinking anything but water for 2 to 4 hours before going to bed. Alcohol and sugary drinks before bed are just as disruptive to your Circadian Rhythm as eating.
Time Restricted Eating (TRE)
What does Time Restricted Eating have to do with your Circadian Rhythm? A lot!
First, let me explain what Time Restricted Eating means. It means you restrict all eating to a 12 hour time frame. So if you have your first meal at 7am, then you must finish eating all meals by 7pm.
Some people wake up and have their first cup of coffee early in the morning but don’t eat until later. But as soon as you have that first cup of coffee, the 12-hour clock starts running. So just because you waited until 10am to eat something, does NOT mean you can keep eating until 10pm at night to stay within the 12-hour window. Water is the only exception to this rule. But if you add lemon to your water, your clock starts running.
What is it about restricting your eating to this 12-hour window that makes a difference with your Circadian Rhythm?
Remember that all our cells have a Circadian Rhythm, and that means all our organs do too. And the minute we eat something, organs like our stomach, liver, kidneys and colon wake up and begin to work. This is important because whenever you eat, you are turning on your digestive clock. That means that as soon as you start eating, your body must digest, absorb and metabolize the food. And then the waste must be sent to your kidneys and intestines. So eating outside the 12-hour window means your digestive system must wake up from their rest and repair cycle in order to process that food – even if it’s a small snack. Once that happens it takes several hours before your organs can get back to their rest and repair mode. You can see that by eating all day and into the night, you are severely disrupting your body’s natural rhythms.
What is the worst thing you can do with regards to eating? Eating late at night. As mentioned above, this disrupts your digestive clock and it wakes up your body at the time of day it should be slowing down and preparing for sleep.
The other problem with late night eating is that the food doesn’t move as fast through your digestive system as it does when you eat during the day. The food is going to sit in your stomach longer, which means it will secrete more acid to digest the food. If you’ve ever suffered from acid reflux at night, this is likely the cause – especially if you lie down to go to sleep right after eating.
Change Your Circadian Rhythm One Step at a Time
There is a lot more to this topic than I’m able to share in one blog post. I strongly recommend you order the book, The Circadan Code if you want to improve your sleep and improve your health.
I’ve been practicing the 12-hour eating window and I’m finding it to be helpful in maintaining my overall health. I also try to stay consistent with the timing of my 12-hour eating window. I’m usually able to stick to the 7am to 7pm time frame. I do prefer not eating after 7pm anyway, because it gives me at least a couple hours of not eating before going to bed.
Another thing I like about TRE is that it helps when it comes to willpower. And by that I mean that when I reach for that snack or hot chocolate at 8 or 9pm, I quickly remind myself that I’m past my window and that usually does the trick. When I set a goal for myself, I like to succeed.