Your circadian rhythm is your innate biological clock that helps your body function in patterns and rhythms. It regulates your natural sleep schedule, and is closely tied to both melatonin, the sleep hormone, and changes in light.
Your biological sleep clock exists in a part of your brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, which sits right behind the nerves of your eyes. This is why your clock is sensitive to light.
It is crucial for you to understand your circadian rhythm in order to build healthy sleeping habits.
Circadian rhythm disorders are disruptions in your natural biological clock rhythm. The most common ones are [American Sleep Association]:
Usually circadian rhythm disorders are often in response to external factors such as:
The first three points probably caught your eye because they are particularly important to Alaskans. Alaska has a high number of shift workers and has both extreme lighting and darkness conditions.
Symptoms of circadian rhythm disorders are straightforward: when you want or need to sleep is when you can’t sleep. Some common symptoms are:
Other symptoms include those that are consistent with insomnia and sleep deprivation.
A number factors contribute to developing a circadian rhythm disorder, some of which are unique to the modern age. These include:
It may or may not be easy to treat or avoid circadian rhythm disorders – it just depends on your circumstance. Some best practices to avoid or treat these disorders are:
Most importantly, having a solid sleep schedule is one of your surest ways to get consistent sleep (at least, as much as possible). Good sleep schedules habits may replace sleep medicine supplementation in some cases, and helps prevent you from the nasty side effects of circadian rhythm disorders
If you are a struggling from any of issues related to circadian rhythm disorders, please reach out to use right away. Start by taking this free online sleep test.