The sleep-wake cycle: Why it’s linked to mood disorders

Not everyone needs antidepressants or emotional counselling sessions. Yes, they are helpful and one must take them if they really need it but not without trying to fix the basic fundamentals of living. One such fundamental is circadian rhythm and aligning our lifestyle to that.

Messing up with your circadian rhythm can disturb every single aspect of human health and function, including your emotional and mental health. This also means aligning yourself to the biological clock or circadian rhythm, which is perhaps the only lifestyle change that you could make, for your health to fall in place.

But why the sleep-wake cycle?

Humans are products of nature, and we thrive when we live according to the cycles of nature. An important aspect of how nature and human bodies have been designed to work is our circadian rhythm, sleep-wake, or the day-night cycle. It is an intelligence that generates feelings of wakefulness and sleepiness, hunger, and satiety during an entire 24-hour cycle.

In the field of Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine, we deal with the end-of-life patients, cancers, rare syndromes, metabolic diseases, diabetes, kidney and organ disease, cardiovascular and endocrine issues, hormonal disorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cognitive disease, obesity, skin and hair problems. When we spend time studying their lifestyle history, we identify that almost 80-90 per cent of these cases have their roots deep in poor emotional health. It could be a relationship issue, stress from work, loss of a loved one, sickness, fear, worry, feelings of unworthiness, and so on.

The one thing that has worked powerfully for all of our patients to improve their emotional health, mood, and sense of well-being, over and above other tools like affirmations, gratitude practice, laughter, music, and in some cases, medications and treatments is our ability to coach them into aligning their lives and lifestyles with the laws of nature — the circadian rhythm, because when we put the patient into the circadian rhythm cycle, the body’s intelligence begins to kick in, it is harnessed to work, repair, identify and fix. In fact, a good diet, exercise plan, yoga, pranayama, chanting, and other such practices are all superficial, if they are not put into a system.

An irregular circadian rhythm is likely to affect an individual’s sleep patterns, which can have a rippling effect on several other aspects of health, including eating habits, emotional capacity to handle stress the next day, motivation levels, will-power, energy levels, exercise habits, and so on. If not managed the right way, this could lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression. Science, today, shows that a messed-up biological clock can lead to depressive symptoms because the very fundamentals of well-being are broken. Anyone who has dealt with or is dealing with jetlag will understand what disrupting the circadian rhythm is. Meal timings change, cravings change, energy levels dip, sleep patterns change, moods change, and everything seems off. Imagine living with this disruption every day!

So, does the answer to a bad mood, stress, or anxiety lie in a pill or living in alignment with nature?

9 simple rules of circadian rhythm:

It takes 9 simple steps to live in alignment with the circadian rhythm.

1. Waking up with the rising sun.

2. Avoid looking at gadgets right after waking up, and use this time to connect within, with nature, soak up natural sunlight and expose yourself to nature in any way possible. Also, try to clean your bowels within an hour of waking up.

3. Avoid eating until the sun rises.

4. Consume coffee or tea only after three hours of waking up.

5. Eat, work out, sleep, and wake up around the same times every day to build a rhythm.

6. Consume maximum calories for breakfast and lunch and minimum for dinner. Let dinner be the leanest meal of the day.

7. Eat the last meal of the day before or during sunset and fast through the night (dry or intermittent, based on whatever is comfortable), and only break it the next day after sunset. This automatically results in a 12-hour effortless fast in the most natural way.

8. Keep a 2- or 3-hour gap between dinner and bedtime.

9. Disconnect from blue/artificial light close to bedtime. Such kinds of lights suppress melatonin secretion. This should be done at least 1-2 hours before bedtime, the earlier the better. Plan your day if you want to fit in television or other modes of recreation.

That is all one needs to follow to align their routine to nature’s. Does that sound too simple? Yes, it does and that is why people do not follow it because so many of us are stuck to a belief that simple doesn’t work. And we chase complications, sign up for one stress management workshop after another, jump on a laundry list of medications, visit counsellors after counsellors and yet find no solution.

How does aligning with circadian rhythm help elevate your mood?

There is a growing relationship between the circadian rhythm and mood regulation and depression. Even Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), commonly called winter blues, highlights how important it is for us to have sunlight and expose our bodies to that when people are forced to stay indoors and have little or no opportunity to soak in natural sunlight.

Sun is life

Even the simple act of waking up to sunrise and allowing your body to soak in some sunshine has such powerful mood-lifting benefits. While we have known this for decades, there is so much fear in people today about the information they have on the sun and its connection with cancer. We prescribe sun to our patients and the outcomes of doing this daily are amazing. Better mood, energy, and sleep. Sun is life, after all. There would be no life or organism alive without the sun. No human or machine is superior to the intelligence of nature. Sun and UV rays can be harmful when overdone. Start with as little as 10 minutes and gradually build it up to 15 or 20 minutes and prefer to get the morning or late evening sunshine. Definitely avoid it when the sun is at its peak.

Besides increasing your Vitamin D3 levels (which again plays a role in mood regulation), the sun exposes us to powerful infrared rays that lower inflammation, regulate sleep patterns, elevate mood by releasing serotonin (happy hormone) and produce cellular melatonin, which is one of the most powerful antioxidants. Low levels of serotonin and melatonin are associated with every single mood disorder known today.

Other benefits of living in sync with the circadian rhythm:

Better sleep quality

By aligning your sleep and wake routine with sunset and sunrise, you also improve your sleep pattern and quality. People have reported how living according to the circadian rhythm has helped them sleep like a baby. Sound sleep has every connection with our mood. We wake up feeling fresh and energy levels soar. We are less groggy.

Balanced social life

If you are worried about a party invitation that you have received, go for it. Parties and socialising do not have to revolve around food. You can eat an early dinner, and head out for the party. Do not let society define your meal timings. You need to decide for yourself, based on what your priorities are.

Work:life balance

Living this way allows you to honour both work and your personal life. Many people who initially complained about not having enough time left to enjoy themselves with their family, have suddenly started to feel there is plenty of time. They feel more organised and productive, less pressured, and have better time-management capability.

Better Digestion and Gut Health

Because you eat according to your metabolism, and sync it with the functionality of your digestive organs, your body breaks down, absorbs, and assimilates food very efficiently. People have experienced waking up with flatter stomachs and feeling leaner, with no bloating, acidity, reflux, or constipation. And improved gut health means improved emotional health because of how intricately our gut and mind are connected. .

wknd@khaleejtimes.com