How To Get Better Sleep Using Your Natural Rhythm

Hi friends! Today we’re going to take a look at sleep and Circadian Rhythm.

What is it:

What is Circadian Rhythm? Aside from being oddly hard for me to spell repeatedly, Circadian Rhythm is your body’s internal clock. It tells you when to sleep and wake up, when to exercise and eat, and it influences hormone release and body temperature. It is impacted by a lot of different factors called zeitgerbers. Don’t worry if you forget that word- I have to look it up every time I talk about Circadian Rhythm. Zeitgerbers are literally defined as things that impact your Circadian Rhythm- so it’s only used in this one context.

The most important Zeitgerbers are connected to light. How much daylight you’re getting, how much light is in the room when you’re sleeping, what time you get your first dose of sunlight, and how late your last screen time is. We will focus on light today, because this is the most important factor in getting your Circadian rhythm, or natural rhythm, back on track.

Where I’m at:

My current sleep pattern is dictated by my toddler. We co-sleep. I love co-sleeping, if that is something you are interested in, please research safe co-sleeping habits and talk to your pediatrician before making any changes.

All that being said- my sleep schedule is long and consistent.

Below is a chart indicating our average sleep schedule, time spent outside, first access to sunlight in a day, and last electronic light each day.

What’s “best”:

Studies show that, when thinking about light, important guidelines for good sleep are:

1. Getting your first dose of daylight before 9:30 AM
2. Spending at least 30 minutes outside
3. Ending screen time at least 1 hour before bed

Our family has already made some changes to get into better habits. Some examples are:

1. We bought an old digital alarm clock to keep in our room and leave our cell phones in the kitchen at night.
2. We meet up for Tanner’s lunch break (he eats while working) so that we can walk outside for about 1 hour.
3. Tanner coaches little kids soccer, when he has practice, Evie and I go and walk around or play on the playground nearby to get more time outdoors.
4. We turn off the TV and internet at 9 (with a few exceptions– Tanner loves watching sports, so sometimes we have a playoff game or whatnot on).
5. We leave curtains open in the bedroom, so that the natural sunlight will start to wake us up.

How I can be Better Than Yesterday:

There is definitely still room for improvement, but I feel like we’ve come a long way. Things I’d like to work on to help us with our light cycles:

1. Evie and I going outside earlier in the morning, even if she’s still asleep, I can take her pack and play out and let her sleep while I garden. I will start by going out at 9 am to shift this. We’ll see how she does. This will help both with getting our first dose of sunlight earlier, and giving us more time outside.
2. Turning off the TV and internet to 8:30 pm.
3. Monitoring how much screen time I’m currently exposed to. There’s a way you can see on your phone how much time you’ve spent in front of it, I’d like to see if there’s a way to track the computer, as well. From there I will make a goal.

Remember! If you’re just starting a new habit, make it easy to obtain. For example, if you currently use your phone until 1 am, set a bedtime alert for 12:30 am, and put your phone somewhere out of reach at that point. Don’t go straight for “putting phone down at 10 pm.” It’s unlikely you’ll stick to that goal for more than a few days.

Similarly, if you are just starting to look at your habits, don’t go straight into making a goal- take a few days or a week to track what you’re current habits are. For example, I might take 5 minutes every morning to track how much time I spent outdoors, what time I woke up, and what time I stopped using screens each day, just to get a feel for where I’m at before setting a goal.

For more tips about how to set better goals, look out for my upcoming post: How To Set Goals You’ll Actually Reach.

How we can be Better Than Yesterday:

We are not the only beings to be driven by Circadian Rhythm. We know that through blue screens, time indoors, and crazy sleep schedules we are messing ourselves up, but what about other creatures? Artificial light sources do impact wildlife. Fairy lights, path lights, porch lights, and street lights can all wreck havoc on certain animals. For example: Outdoor artificial lights mess up fireflies mating, their unique lights are overwhelmed, causing population decline. Artificial lights at night can impact plant growth and flowering. They can also impact nocturnal animals mating and finding food/navigating their environments (think opossums, raccoons, and owls). I know, maybe some of us think, “Well, great! I don’t like opossums and I know they’re nocturnal.” But all of our animals play a vital role in our ecosystems. Opossums eat ticks by the thousands!

We can be Better Than Yesterday by limiting our nighttime artificial lights. Only use fairy lights on specific occasions, not every night. Turn off porch lights at night, or have them on a timer so they’re not on all night. When lights are necessary, have shields that direct them downwards and stop light pollution. Use dimmers to keep the brightness down. Use motion sensors if lights are needed for security reasons. If needed choose warmer lights (3000K or lower)- it’s less disruptive to both humans and animals.

What to explore in the future:

I still have a lot of questions in regards to this topic. If you think about it, electricity has only been around for a few hundred years, and wasn’t common until the early 1900s. I wonder if artificial light, in general, messes with our natural rhythms? Would it be better to have candles burning after sundown as they are less bright? I know Tanner works on a computer all day, do those blue-light glasses really work? How can we improve his environment while he’s at work? What is the average amount of time people spend outside and how can we spend more time outside as a family? What other factors impact our natural rhythm or Circadian Rhythm? Is it better to have blackout curtains covering the windows at night? How does the moon impact us?