The Majesty Of Your Circadian Rhythm ✨

Every day I hear about the struggles that people have with sleep – and this is particularly prevalent with perimenopausal and menopausal women. I have always been in awe of our circadian rhythm and how it governs our sleep wake cycle as humans. It’s a whole study in itself how our body responds to the rising and setting of the sun, how our hormones are literally nurtured and moved by the cycles of the stars – this is a fact.

The daylight in our eyes in the morning turns off the production of melatonin and increases bursts of cortisol – and in the evening the darkness, switches on the production of melatonin, assuming there are no other interferences along the way!

Melatonin is the name of the most important sleep hormone, made by the spectacular pineal gland – that can often be disturbed by the erratic and stress-filled way that some people live, with sympathetic nervous system activation running the show – thereby impacting one’s ability to wind down, access appropriate levels of melatonin and be moved into a restful and regenerative sleep. At the time of menopause, women have lowering levels of oestrogen (by design) and this can then impact the levels of melatonin that are produced and again, can impact quality of sleep.

Melatonin has other important benefits and functions in the body – like how it interacts with your gut and brain hormones, which influence how readily your body heals and recovers, as well as ‘burns fat’ overnight. So, sleep disruption can impact your health, levels of inflammation, joint problems and sometimes weight.

The cycle of melatonin production

So, how to boost your sleep hormone and production of melatonin? Here’s a start for you, with some very practical steps to take:

1.    Daylight in your eyes

The quality of your sleep is determined by the quality of the day. Start your day by getting outside and allowing your eyes to receive the natural daylight – no sunglasses! This helps to get in sync with the natural cycles that are supporting our bodies.

2.    Winding down matters

At least 1 hour before bed, turn off all screens so you are eliminating the blue light factor – which is known to reduce your production of melatonin. It is a false light that confuses the natural cycles of your body. If you do need to use a screen, you could use some low blue light glasses or activate low blue light on your screen.

3.    Check your IRON levels

Low iron levels can impact the production of melatonin. If you suspect that your iron levels may be low (consistent low energy can be an indicator) then checking your bloods with your GP or naturopath may be a good idea.

4.    Your body LOVES routine and rhythm.

The production of melatonin begins around 9pm – so ideally, bedtime would be around this time. Yep, it might be early for some. So see if you can start to wind yourself back to somewhere between 9-10pm. And then waking (actually getting up) around the same time every day also.

5.    The quality of your bedroom

Yes, this actually matters! Our bodies love it when things are in order, so take some time to put things away and create a beautiful nurturing space for your body to rest. Your bedroom needs to be dark and quiet. And cosy but not overheated. A coolish room and warm bed is usually best, particularly for those who are heating up over night with night sweats, hot flushes, etc. You may also like to have a gentle fan on or a window open to help regulate body temperature.

Sleep is critical, as we know, for our overall health. However, the quality of sleep is what really matters - and this begins with how we live in the day. Absolutely support the production of melatonin at bedtime, but also work on soothing your nervous system and addressing stressors during your every day. Your relationship with your body is everything.