Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsYour Biological ClockHealth EffectsBest Times for ActivitiesHow to Change ItSummaryNext in Beating the Summer Scaries Guide7 Tips for Becoming More Mentally Focused

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Table of Contents

Your Biological Clock

Health Effects

Best Times for Activities

How to Change It

Summary

Next in Beating the Summer Scaries Guide

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What if there was a way to get more out of each day? While we all have the same 24 hours, how we use that time impacts what we can accomplish. Recent research suggests that one way to pack more into your day is to sync your biological clock to your daily schedule. By doing certain things at peak periods of activity and energy, you might be able to improve your productivity.

Your biological clock controls a great deal of how you function. This works much like a program, regulating the timing of many biological functions ranging from when you sleep to when you reproduce. Circadian rhythms manage daily sleeping and waking cycles and contribute to your energy levels at various points during the day.

You might become particularly aware of your body’s biological clock at times when your daily schedule is thrown off-kilter. Shift workers, for example, must constantly adjust their daily ebb and flow to the demands of their work schedule. Travelers may experience disturbances in their sleep-wake cycles leading to feelings ofjet lag.

You’ve probably noticed that there are certain times during the day when you feel more energized. At other times, you might feel drained. Research has shown, however, that your body clock is responsible for far more than just your sleep-wake cycle.

What Is Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder?

How It Affects Your Health

Circadian rhythms affect your sleep-wake cycle, eating habits, body temperature, digestion, hormone levels, and other body functions. Because of this, your body’s internal clock can play an important role in your overall health. Interruptions to your circadian rhythm may contribute to health conditions including diabetes,seasonal affective disorder, andsleep disorders.

The Best Time for Activities

The reality is that the demands of daily life such as school, commuting, work, and social events can all throw the body’s natural cycles out of whack. The way we organize our daily activities is sometimes in direct contrast to our body’s own inclinations.

Altering your schedule might not always be easy, but there are clear benefits to doing so. In addition to making better use of your time, there are also potential health implications. Circadian rhythm disruptions have been linked to a range of negative health outcomes includingdepressionand diabetes.

When is the best time to tackle certain tasks?

Sleeping

Your biological clock plays a major role in controlling your daily sleeping and waking cycle. Factors such as your schedule, bedtime routines, and even age can play a role as well.

The body’s natural sleep cycle changes as we age. Knowing this might help you adapt your own schedule to best suit your sleep needs.

Energy levels tend to dip in the early afternoon. This can be a great time to take a nap. Even if you are not able to take a quick power nap, a quick break from your work might be beneficial and improve task performance.

How to Feel Less Tired During the Day

Eating

Could eating at the right time really be better for your health? Studies suggest that eating at certain times may have some health benefits.

Restricting your eating to a 12 to 15-hour window during the day can be helpful. Eating before bed can also have a negative impact on sleep, so its best to avoid eating late in the evening. At the very least, try timing your last meal so that it a minimum of three hours before you go to bed.

Exercising

Adjusting your exercise schedule to match your biological clock may also help you get the most out of your workouts.

Research suggests that regular exercise can help regulate your circadian rhythm and help improve your daily sleep schedule.

The evening might be the best time for yoga and other exercises that require flexibility. This is because this is when the body is at its most relaxed and least prone to injury.

Thinking

You may also want to adjust your schedule to make of most of your mental powers.

If you are working on some sort of creative task, you might want to wait until you are feeling a bit fatigued. In a study examining how the time of day influences problem solving, researchers had participants solve analytical problems during times when they were either at their mental peak or at non-optimal times of tiredness.

The researchers found that people tend to do their best creative thinking when they are tired. Because the mind is more inclined to wander when we are tired, it seems that it can lead people to think in more novel and innovative ways.

How to Change Your Circadian Rhythm

Of course, not everyone’s biological clock functions the same way. Some people tend to experience energy peaks earlier in the day, while others are more active during the later hours. Thanks to the demands of daily life, it may sometimes feel like your biological clock and schedule are at odds.

Tips for AdjustingHere are some tips for establishing a more productive daily schedule:Establish a sleep schedule:Set an alarm and go to bed at the same time each night. Wake up when your alarm goes off—no hitting that snooze button over and over again.Give it some time:Getting used to a new schedule may take a while, but stick with it until it starts to feel more natural.Pay attention to your energy levels:Try to arrange certain activities around your peak energy levels. Not everyone is the same, so your own energy levels may follow a slightly different schedule.

Tips for Adjusting

Here are some tips for establishing a more productive daily schedule:Establish a sleep schedule:Set an alarm and go to bed at the same time each night. Wake up when your alarm goes off—no hitting that snooze button over and over again.Give it some time:Getting used to a new schedule may take a while, but stick with it until it starts to feel more natural.Pay attention to your energy levels:Try to arrange certain activities around your peak energy levels. Not everyone is the same, so your own energy levels may follow a slightly different schedule.

Here are some tips for establishing a more productive daily schedule:

How Your Chronotype Affects Your Quality of Sleep

Paying attention to how your energy levels shift throughout the day can give you a better idea of when you might be at your best. If you tend to feel more mentally alert in the mornings, try to schedule cognitively demanding activities during that time. Changing your daily schedule to better match your daily rhythms can take some time, but it can ultimately lead to greater productivity and improved motivation.

How to Practice Sleep Syncing for Better Sleep and Energy

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Health.Circadian rhythms.Driskell JE, Mullen B.The efficacy of naps as a fatigue countermeasure: a meta-analytic integration.Hum Factors. 2005;47(2):360-77. doi:10.1518/0018720054679498Chaix A, Lin T, Le HD, Chang MW, Panda S.Time-restricted feeding prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice lacking a circadian clock.Cell Metab. 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004Wehrens SMT, Christou S, Isherwood C, et al.Meal timing regulates the human circadian system.Curr Biol. 2017;27(12):1768-1775.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.059Kline CE.The bidirectional relationship between exercise and sleep: Implications for exercise adherence and sleep improvement.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2014;8(6):375–379. doi:10.1177/1559827614544437Wieth M, Zacks R.Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal.Thinking & Reasoning.2011;17(4):387–401. doi:10.1080/13546783.2011.625663Additional ReadingChaix, A, Lin, T, Le, HD, Chang, MW, & Panda, S.Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock. Cell Metabolism, 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004.Smolensky, M & Lamberg, L. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. New York: Henry Holt and Company; 2015.

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Health.Circadian rhythms.Driskell JE, Mullen B.The efficacy of naps as a fatigue countermeasure: a meta-analytic integration.Hum Factors. 2005;47(2):360-77. doi:10.1518/0018720054679498Chaix A, Lin T, Le HD, Chang MW, Panda S.Time-restricted feeding prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice lacking a circadian clock.Cell Metab. 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004Wehrens SMT, Christou S, Isherwood C, et al.Meal timing regulates the human circadian system.Curr Biol. 2017;27(12):1768-1775.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.059Kline CE.The bidirectional relationship between exercise and sleep: Implications for exercise adherence and sleep improvement.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2014;8(6):375–379. doi:10.1177/1559827614544437Wieth M, Zacks R.Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal.Thinking & Reasoning.2011;17(4):387–401. doi:10.1080/13546783.2011.625663Additional ReadingChaix, A, Lin, T, Le, HD, Chang, MW, & Panda, S.Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock. Cell Metabolism, 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004.Smolensky, M & Lamberg, L. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. New York: Henry Holt and Company; 2015.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Institute of Health.Circadian rhythms.Driskell JE, Mullen B.The efficacy of naps as a fatigue countermeasure: a meta-analytic integration.Hum Factors. 2005;47(2):360-77. doi:10.1518/0018720054679498Chaix A, Lin T, Le HD, Chang MW, Panda S.Time-restricted feeding prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice lacking a circadian clock.Cell Metab. 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004Wehrens SMT, Christou S, Isherwood C, et al.Meal timing regulates the human circadian system.Curr Biol. 2017;27(12):1768-1775.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.059Kline CE.The bidirectional relationship between exercise and sleep: Implications for exercise adherence and sleep improvement.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2014;8(6):375–379. doi:10.1177/1559827614544437Wieth M, Zacks R.Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal.Thinking & Reasoning.2011;17(4):387–401. doi:10.1080/13546783.2011.625663

National Institute of Health.Circadian rhythms.

Driskell JE, Mullen B.The efficacy of naps as a fatigue countermeasure: a meta-analytic integration.Hum Factors. 2005;47(2):360-77. doi:10.1518/0018720054679498

Chaix A, Lin T, Le HD, Chang MW, Panda S.Time-restricted feeding prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice lacking a circadian clock.Cell Metab. 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004

Wehrens SMT, Christou S, Isherwood C, et al.Meal timing regulates the human circadian system.Curr Biol. 2017;27(12):1768-1775.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.059

Kline CE.The bidirectional relationship between exercise and sleep: Implications for exercise adherence and sleep improvement.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2014;8(6):375–379. doi:10.1177/1559827614544437

Wieth M, Zacks R.Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal.Thinking & Reasoning.2011;17(4):387–401. doi:10.1080/13546783.2011.625663

Chaix, A, Lin, T, Le, HD, Chang, MW, & Panda, S.Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock. Cell Metabolism, 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004.Smolensky, M & Lamberg, L. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. New York: Henry Holt and Company; 2015.

Chaix, A, Lin, T, Le, HD, Chang, MW, & Panda, S.Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock. Cell Metabolism, 2019;29(2):303-319.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004.

Smolensky, M & Lamberg, L. The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. New York: Henry Holt and Company; 2015.

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