Why is circadian health so important?

One can’t say that humans are not working on their sleep. Look at the tsunami of sleep ammo we’ve acquired in the last couple of years. There are sleep trackers, nap pods, smart pillows and mattresses, sleep lattes and even sleep robots to put one to sleep now.In fact the quest to keep insomnia under check has been so strong that we haven’t slept for months to make sure our sleep hygiene is in place. And what do we have instead? Orthosomnia — an unhealthy obsession with getting a "healthy" amount of shuteye. As a result we still remain in a sleepless epidemic, with around one in three of us sleeping badly and one in 10 having regular sleeplessness. The reason? Most of today’s generic sleep solutions, and our modern lives, defy the basic facts of circadian biology. It is the timing of sleep that is absolutely key to getting high-quality, restorative sleep.We need time cuesThe bedrock of circadian science is that exposure to regular light-dark cycles provides the daily “time cues” needed to reset our circadian clocks every single day, and not only determines how well we sleep but our very cellular health. We need the sun’s bright blue light in the day to be alert and active, and we need dark to kick-start our brain’s sleep mode and recovery. Explains Dr Vivek Nangia, Principal Director & Head - Pulmonology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, “These external cues are called Zeitgebers like meal time, social interactions, blue light and darkness.There are certain hormones which are secreted at a different level during the day and different level during the night. Unless a person has a good sleep at night, these hormones will not be secreted appropriately which will result in certain diseases.”Living ‘lightmare’Our day and night light exposure is all haywire thanks to indoor loving, remote work models and obsession with our phone screens. When there are fluctuations in light and dark, due to sleeping at wrong times, exposure to bright lights at night, traveling across time zones, there is going to be chaos and confusion in the body. Evidence suggests that circadian disruption from over-lighting the night could be related to risk of obesity and depression as well.Luke Coutinho, Holistic Lifestyle Coach- Integrative Medicine, says this disruption is worrisome, “Our modern ways of living don’t quite match up with our natural clocks and hence we have so much of sickness today. In fact, science is showing us today how disruption of our circadian rhythm has everything to do with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, thyroid problems, obesity, weight gain and everything else.”Reset your life “Circadian health is not just about focusing on sleeping well and on time, it is about several other activities we do through the day that affect our health, right from our meal timings, to workout timings, amount and timing of caffeine, snacking habits, how we spend our start of the day, the amount of time we spend in nature and more,” adds Coutinho. He has been telling his clients to not just sleep but also eat and workout according to sleep-wake cycle.The first guideline is an early dinner, either with sunset or within an hour of sunset. Also most calories should be consumed between morning and lunchtime because your metabolic activity is at its highest. Fixing a workout time and working out around the same time every day is also more effective. He adds, “Circadian diet is to eat in sync with our circadian rhythm. This lifestyle change has been one of the most powerful tools for people to lose excess weight, feel lighter, gain a better control over blood sugar levels, blood pressure, lipids, sleep better, reduce inflammation, boost energy levels and much more.”Lastly, spend time outdoors when it’s light outside to boost your wakefulness and power down your screens well before bedtime and try engaging in something analog, such as reading a book or meditating.