Circadian Rhythm: How to Use it to Your Advantage When Working the Night Shift.
When you first started working the night shift, you probably found it difficult to fall asleep during the day and stay energized and alert at night. Switching to the night shift is a major adjustment, and it can be hard on your body when it’s used to being active when the sun’s out and asleep when night comes.
Even now, you might still find yourself struggling to fall asleep quickly or to stay asleep during the day. Although there are steps you can take to help make this adjustment easier, your body will naturally want you to wake up when it’s daytime and bright outside.
This is because working nights disrupts the circadian rhythm influencing your sleep-wake cycle.
What is Circadian Rhythm?
A circadian rhythm is an ongoing cycle that makes sure your body is functioning properly. These cycles don’t rely on conscious thought but rather on environmental cues that signal each stage and make sure the cycle is running smoothly.
When most people talk about circadian rhythm, they are referring to the sleep-wake cycle. Environmental cues like light and temperature let the body know when it should be awake and when it should be asleep. When it is bright outside and the sun is out, the body’s circadian rhythm will send signals that cause alertness, and when it is dark outside, the body’s circadian rhythm will send signals that release melatonin and cause you to fall asleep.
The circadian rhythm helps trigger this process, as well as other cycles in the body, in order to keep people healthy.
How Does Circadian Rhythm Affect the Body?
While many people only associate circadian rhythm with sleep health, your body’s circadian rhythm has a significant impact on many of your body’s automatic processes. The most common factors influenced by your circadian rhythm are sleep, metabolism, hormone release, and body temperature.
-Sleep
When the sleep-wake cycle is firing on all cylinders, it leads to high-quality, restful sleep. The body receives the continuous melatonin release it needs to stay asleep at night and the energy it needs to stay active during the day.
However, when the circadian rhythm is disrupted, it causes sleep problems like shift work sleep disorder and insomnia.
This is why it can be hard to get a good day’s sleep when you work the night shift. Because your body must be awake during the time that it would typically be asleep and vice versa, the circadian rhythm controlling your sleep-wake cycle is off. When you’re trying to fall asleep during the day, your body signals that it is time to be awake, keeping you from falling into a deep restful sleep.
-Metabolism
Your circadian rhythm also influences your metabolism throughout the day. The body uses signals to release hormones that cause us to be hungry during the daytime and to fast during late, sleeping hours. This is why eating high-calorie meals at night leads to more weight gain, poorer sleep quality, and a greater risk for health issues like cardiovascular disease.
-Body Temperature
Your core body temperature follows your sleep-wake cycle, causing your temperature to drop when you’re sleeping and to increase when you’re awake.
Your body’s circadian rhythm uses environmental cues like light exposure to determine how to adjust your body temperature and keep you healthy and comfortable.
Promoting a Healthy Circadian Rhythm
Because your circadian rhythm helps set many essential processes in motion, it’s important for you to adopt practices that will benefit your circadian rhythm and help you use it to your advantage.
Here are a few ways for you to make this happen:
-Avoid Snacking Before Bed
When it comes to staying healthy, when we eat is just as important as what we eat. If you eat right before bed, it will mess with your circadian rhythm and make your body believe that it is time for you to be active and alert.
Try not to eat for at least a couple of hours before bedtime to help make sure your metabolism and sleep-wake cycle are functioning properly.
-Follow a Sleep Schedule
Create a sleep schedule and stick to it even on your days off. This will help your body get in the routine of sleeping during the day and staying awake at night, which will allow your body to adjust to a new circadian rhythm.
-Watch Your Light Exposure
Using your phone or exposing yourself to bright lights before bed will provide the environmental cues your circadian rhythm needs to start the waking part of your sleep-wake cycle. Try to limit your light exposure by avoiding screens, wearing sunglasses on your way home from your shift, and investing in blackout curtains for your bedroom.
When you can make these adjustments, your circadian rhythm will start to change and help you feel alert at night when you’re working and sleepy during the day when it’s time for you to rest. This will make it a lot easier for you to get used to working nights and improve your sleep health.
Night Shift Nutrition is a community focused on living your best life, while working nights. We do this by sharing our experiences and science based educations. The point is to not only survive working nights but to thrive! If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of you can apply to join our facebook group or subscribe to our email list.
