Reset Your Circadian Rhythm

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I woke up Monday morning, post daylights savings time, feeling like a ton of bricks 😩 and wanted to not get out of bed. Come evening, bed time feels way too early and my body feels wired to stay up an extra hour. When I succumb to the desire to google search one last thing, last night it was 'what are the health benefits of doing castor oil packs' 🤓, because I bought a new castor oil pack and wanted the reassuring reminders of what an incredible thing I was doing 😂, I've gone off the deep end 🤪. This turns into researching studies behind it, reading blogger's personal experiences, doing a quick scroll through tiktok... eeek! Then the morning comes, I feel heavy and sluggish and am an hour behind schedule 😓.

But there is a way to end this vicious cycle of restless sleep, low energy levels throughout the day, mood swings and more and it is to reset your circadian rhythm.

Resetting our circadian rhythm ⏰ as the seasons change and especially during daylights savings time is essential for adequate sleep 😴, proper digestion, balanced hormone levels, stable energy levels, strong emotional awareness and overall well being 💁🏼‍♀️. In Ayurveda, we have rituals that reset and maintain our inner clock, which are essentially based on aligning to the rhythms of the sun ☀️. This follows one very important and simple healing principle in Ayurveda, when we align with nature, we heal our bodies. Here's how it works.

As the sun rises 🌞, our energy and hormones begin to come online, as the sun peaks, our energy level 🌤 and productivity peaks and as the sun sets, our energy and hormones begin to prepare for our slumber 💤. As we sleep, our intelligent bodies clear and repair toxins in the physical body through our liver and our emotional and mental body through dreams. While there are a plethora of routines that Ayurveda recommends that reset your energy levels and align with the sun. I am serving you the three simplest and most impactful ones if you feel like you too have been hit by a semi truck this daylight savings time 😚.

1) Receive sunlight in the am 🌞

There is a specific kind of light that we receive in the morning that triggers the proper hormones to stimulate our body and trigger higher energy levels. I am committing to get outside everyday after breakfast for either a brisk walk or a sweet run for this. According to Andrew Huberman, an American Neuroscientist, says it can trigger early day cortisol release, and prepare the body for sleep later that night'. This also healthily affects metabolism, focus and immune system.

2) Eat your biggest meal at 12pm 🍔

The sun peaks around 12pm-2pm, which is when we as humans can also peak with our energy levels. Similarly, we can choose to do our most productive work during this time. This is also the best time to have our biggest meal of the day, since digestion is strongest. If dinner then becomes a lighter meal, the body has a better ability to rest and prepare for sleep. 

3) Enjoy the sunset 🌅

The other important time to get proper sunlight is in the late afternoon, early evening. This signals to your brain to start preparing for sleep and create the proper hormones to relax the body. Energetically, getting out in nature after a stimulating day and engaging in other's energies is important to clear and reconnect. I love taking a sunset walk to digest what I like to call 'the leftovers' of the day and reconnect back to my physical body. It serves as a coming home to the body and sets up for a good night's sleep.

Pretty simple right?! Now what makes these more difficult is if we are engaging in activities that counteract them. Overusing technological devices, staying within four walls all day, cramming our calendars with too much work, not having a consistent schedule and eating late at night are just a few of the culture norms that disrupt our circadian rhythm. If these are all true, then suddenly this all became a LOT harder.

The Ayurvedic way is to make slow, sustainable changes that aggregate over time. So, choose one of the three sun rituals you want to take on and leave the rest until you are fully embodying the first. Then, choose one habit that is tilting your rhythm out of balance and create a boundary around it. For example, I try not to eat after 8pm, use social media after 9pm and create breaks within my work day.

What rituals are you taking on and which habits are you shedding? Share below!

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Angelica Rose

The Divine Feminine Healer