Are you a night owl or a morning bird? Does jet lag make you tired for days after a trip? Is it harder to get to sleep after hours of staring into the light of your phone screen while scrolling on social media? These are all ways that time and cycles of light and dark can affect your inner biological clock. This is the clock that sets what’s known as your circadian rhythm.
How Does Our Circadian Rhythm Work?
Deep inside your brain, your hypothalamus is receiving signals sent by your eyes that register the levels of light and dark in your environment. These signals let the hypothalamus know when to activate hormones that regulate your metabolism, your digestion, and your sense of feeling sleepy or wide awake. Human beings, over many thousands of years, evolved to be awake and active during daylight, and feel sleepy after nightfall.
The tricky thing is that as modern human beings, we now light up the night with street lights, fill our homes with indoor lighting, while televisions and computers light up our rooms even at night. In the daytime, we stay indoors, draw the curtains, or get only a limited spectrum of daylight through our electronic devices. The problem is that our hypothalamus hasn’t evolved to interpret these changes. These artificial light signals can knock us off-balance with our natural circadian rhythm, disrupt our sleep and energy cycles, and keep us from experiencing our peak well-being.
When We’re Out of Synch
Long-term circadian rhythm disruption can affect virtually all of the body’s major systems, including the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal system, metabolism, nervous system, and the endocrine system.
Specific symptoms that circadian rhythm disruption cause, include: a delay in wound healing, memory problems, digestive issues, body temperature fluctuations, hormonal changes, and an overall lack of energy.
Circadian Rhythm and Skin Health
Chronic skin conditions such as eczema, topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), acne, and psoriasis can significantly disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythm. This happens not only due to uncomfortable symptoms like itching, flaking, and anxiety, but also because of internal shifts—especially elevated cortisol levels at night, which can make it difficult to fall asleep during typical sleep hours.
This disruption creates a frustrating cycle: poor sleep delays skin repair, increases inflammation, and raises stress levels—all of which can worsen skin symptoms. While it’s not always easy, supporting your circadian rhythm is an important part of recovery. In moments when it’s possible to improve your sleep environment, establish consistent sleep and wake times, and reduce evening stimulation, doing so can have a real impact on your skin’s ability to heal.
At the same time, it’s important to recognize how challenging this can be during flare-ups or certain stages of TSW. Understand what’s happening in your body and give yourself grace. Rest when you can—even if it doesn’t follow a perfect routine. Prioritizing gentleness and self-compassion is just as important as any other part of the healing journey.
How to Stay in Harmony with Your Circadian Rhythm
There are some simple steps you can take to get back into harmony with your circadian rhythms. The first step is to know that your body loves routine. Setting a reasonable bedtime and waking up approximately the same time each day, will help reset your inner clock.
Second, avoid stimulants like caffeine in the afternoon and evening so that you feel sleepy at bedtime. Regular moderate exercise each day will also help you relax and sleep better at night. Also, keep naps on the shorter side if you want to be able to fall asleep easily at night.
Third, remember that your body loves it when days are bright and nights stay dark. This sends the correct signal to the hypothalamus to cue the right hormones at the right time. That means in the morning, open the curtains, get outdoors and take in the sunshine for a bit during the day. At night, keep the lights low, and invest in blackout curtains so you can keep your room very dark while you sleep. This helps keep your body in tune with the natural cycles of day and night.
A new factor in modern life that harms our circadian rhythm is screen time. The light from tech devices can confuse our biological clock. Try to turn off screens an hour before bedtime. You can also try keeping your phone in another room while you’re sleeping, so you’re not tempted to scroll and stare into its bright light for hours if you can’t fall asleep right away (or pick up your phone and scroll if you wake up in the middle of the night.)
Night Owls and Morning Birds
We’re not all built the same. Different people may have subtle differences in what makes their inner clock happy. You may only need seven hours of sleep, while another person feels better with nine. You might like to turn in early while someone else may read a book for another hour and sleep a bit later in the morning. Slight variations are normal, and by setting a comfortable routine, you can learn whether you’re a night owl or a morning bird. The key is consistency.
Huge differences from a normal sleep and wake cycle can be caused by night shift work. Off and on night shifts can wreak havoc on your energy level and health, so it pays to research how to manage a night shift job in a way that reduces your health risks.
Jet lag can also be a severe disruption to our circadian rhythm. There are several strategies for coping with travel to other time zones to help you synch up your sleeping, eating, and wake times before, during, and after your trip.
If your sleep and wake cycle is severely disrupted and causing your quality of life to suffer, it’s important to talk with a doctor. Severe insomnia, or the absence of normal sleeping and waking cycles, can be a symptom of a physical illness or mental health disorder that requires further attention.
Running Like Clockwork
Respecting your body’s need to follow the cycles of nature, including the natural cycles of light and dark, is an important part of self-care. It’s as important as clean water, fresh air, and a nourishing diet. If you’re successful in setting a routine that follows and honors your inner clock, the rewards are many. You’ll find that, at the very least, you’ll feel a greater sense of vitality and well-being.
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About the Author
Olivia Hsu Friedman, LAc, Dipl.OM, DACM, Cert. TCMDerm, is the owner of Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions and treats Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, and TSW. Olivia treats patients via video conferencing using only herbal medicine. Olivia is Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Acupuncturists, serves on the Advisory Board of LearnSkin, and is a faculty member of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Group sponsored by the National Eczema Association.