One of the top hacks to support your body composition is to support your Circadian Rhythm.
Circadian Rhythm are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark and affect most living things, including animals, plants, and microbes
Essentially it is our sleep-wake cycle!
Our body is meant to be in “rhythm”. It likes being up with the sun (exposed to light), being given energy (food), being active, hydrating, etc. Then, it likes having a period of time where it is exposed to darkness, no energy, rest, and no movement.
The thing is we tend to fight our circadian rhythm constantly.
Here’s how:
- We don't optimize our sleep
- We don't optimize our hydration
- We don’t eat at appropriate times during the day
- We don’t move throughout the day
- We don’t expose ourselves to sunlight
So on and so forth. Because of this our body’s physiological processes do not work in our favor. They actually start to fight us.
What can we do to optimize our Circadian Rhythm???
In the Morning/Daytime:
- Expose yourself to sunlight especially in the morning (at least 15-20 minutes) and throughout the day!
- Eat a protein and fat rich breakfast with carbs attached to help regulate blood sugar and provide yourself with energy
- Do movement in the morning and throughout the day
- Eat at regular intervals throughout the day and include well balanced snacks.
- Hydrate with not just water but minerals throughout the day (sodium, potassium, magnesium)
- Don't drink caffeine by itself, instead pair it with food. Also stop drinking caffeine at a decent hour so you can go to sleep.
In the Nighttime:
- Minimize blue/green light (phone/tv/etc.)
- Aim for consistent bedtime (7-9 hours)
- Minimize eating too much before bed so you can give you body time to rest/digest
- Calm yourself down before bed. Use stress relieving supplements such as magnesium, stay off your phone, read instead of TV, etc.
If this is not something you are focusing on, then I want you to refocus your energy away from all the nonsense crash diets are telling you to do and start focusing on the essentials needed to make your body healthier.
If you need help with this, I highly recommend checking out my Gray30 course!
Stay Healthy!
Emily
