It’s that time of year again: on November 2 we turn the clock back one hour. Resetting clocks in devices is easy. Unfortunately, your biological clock is not nearly that easy to reprogram. This comes with some serious health consequences. An hour’s time change doesn’t seem like much, but your body is on a tight schedule and this one-hour change confuses us.
Scientists have documented that this shift is linked to much higher rates of heart attacks and car accidents. Even though we get an hour of sleep time during the fall time change, the change throws off the sleep cycle and that’s where all the problems come from.
The circadian rhythm of the body and cells helps regulate important functions such as sleep and metabolism. And there is growing evidence that when our habits – such as when we eat and sleep – are out of sync with our internal clock, it can be harmful to us.
For example, night shift workers are at a much greater risk of developing diabetes and obesity. Research also shows that children who do not have fixed bed and meal times are also more likely to be overweight.
As the days get shorter with less daylight, it’s easy to fall into bad habits, and regulating light exposure is key to regulating circadian rhythm.
Maximize exposure to bright light during the day
Maximize your exposure to daylight in the morning hours, since it gets dark so early in the evening. This simple step is as powerful as avoiding blue light at night. Ideally, you should go outside immediately after waking up – just five minutes of outdoor light can be enough!
Outdoor sunlight is around 1500 lux on a cloudy day and 100,000 lux on a sunny day, while indoor lighting is typically up to 500 lux! Bright OVERHEAD light is the most important signal to shut down melatonin production and wake up.
If it’s too cold to go outside, consider buying a 10,000 lux UV-free lamp – ideally one that you can shine on your face from above.
Minimize evening and night light
Exposure to light and electromagnetic fields from computers, phones, tablets and TVs are all stimulating, so it is important to minimize exposure to nighttime light and especially exposure to blue light. Blue light comes from artificial light. Blue wavelengths – which are beneficial during the day because they promote attention, reaction speed and mood – are disruptive at night. Energy-efficient lighting is packed with blue light, just like our electronics.
Turn off lights or dim them as much as possible. If you must use a computer or your phone, install blue light filter programs on both that adjust the amount of blue light emitted by your computer, phone, and tablets. Flux – https://justgetflux.com is a free program for your laptop or tablet and the Twilight app for your phone. Both allow you to set times and automatically adjust the blue light output of your devices based on the time of day!
You can also purchase blue blocking glasses to use at night. This may seem like a gimmick, but there is very well-done research that supports the effectiveness of reducing blue light in the evening through these and other measures!
For nighttime toilet visits, use a nightlight with red light, because red light does NOT disrupt sleep. That’s why you see it used by the military on ships and submarines!
Avoid alcohol!
Alcohol intake is extremely disruptive to sleep and for many, simply eliminating it results in much better sleep quality within a week. Consider reducing or completely eliminating alcohol intake, especially during the work week!
Stop all eating and drinking before 8 p.m.!
Ideally, you should stop all food and drink intake 3 hours before bedtime. Late food intake can cause digestive problems and late drink intake can cause bathroom visits to disrupt your sleep.
Stay on a consistent sleep-wake cycle!
Get up and go to bed at the same time every day – this trains the body and mind. It’s NOT a good idea to sleep in on the weekend – it will only disrupt your circadian rhythm.
Minimize caffeine intake after 10am!
There are slow and fast caffeine metabolizers and if you are a slow metabolizer, it is critical to stop all caffeine intake before 10am!
Excercise!
Yes – it’s true – for many, a consistent exercise habit will dramatically improve sleep quality and duration!
End your morning shower with a cold shower!
While this may seem unpleasant at first, cold showers dramatically increase the secretion of norepinephrine, the brain’s main stimulant. See this blog post for the many benefits of cold showers: http://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2022/04/can-cold-showers-improve-exercise.html
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