Circadian biology is having its moment in the health world. Lots of people are recommending getting sunlight first thing in the morning when you wake up or wearing blue light blocking glasses at night.
But why is everyone saying this? And how can it help you heal your gut?
What is circadian biology & how can it can help?
The body has a built-in 24-hour clock which organizes how your body sleeps, balances hormones (cortisol/melatonin, etc.) digests (produces stomach acid), regulates body temperature, metabolism, immune activity, and brain function according to time of day.
When we are in tune with our body’s clock, these things function much better.
In the morning cortisol rises to help you wake up and feel alert. The body has to know it is morning to have energy for the day. That’s where daylight comes in as a cue.
During the day our digestion, insulin sensitivity, focus and physical performance are at their peak.
In the evening melatonin rises, body temp drops and the body begins its repair process (which happens mostly when we sleep).
Night time, while we are sleeping is a time of deep detox, immune repair, memory consolidation and tissue healing.
Circadian disruption interrupts the body’s healthy function
If you disrupt these natural processes unintentionally by eating a lot of food before bed, the body won’t go into deep detox and immune repair, it will spend it’s time digesting (something is was supposed to be doing during the day).
A disrupted circadian rhythm also disrupts the body’s time-dependent functions. Late nights, artificial lights, irregular or late meals, stress, spending too much time indoors, international travel and shift work disrupt this delicate balance by throwing off the body’s clock.
When cortisol doesn’t rise appropriately in the morning and melatonin is not made at night, sleep, digestion and the nervous system get easily thrown off.
The symptoms caused by the disruption of your body’s natural rhythm can cause some of the following symptoms and many more.
- blood sugar imbalance
- hormone dysregulation
- gut issues and microbiome imbalance
- poor sleep
- inflammation
- fatigue / burnout
- weight gain
- weaker immune function
Your microbiome also follows a daily rhythm. Gut bacteria change activity based on when you eat, sleep, get exposed to light and experience stress.
That’s why WHEN you eat can matter almost as much as WHAT you eat.
Circadian-supportive habits:
☀️ Morning sunlight in your eyes (outside, not through glass)
🍳 Eating a protein-rich breakfast
🚶 Moving during daylight hours
🌙 Dim lights at night or blue-light blocking glasses
📵 Reduce screens before bed (or wear glasses)
🕰️ Keep meals and sleep schedule fairly consistent
🌿 Eating outside helps carb tolerance and improves insulin
🌙 12-hour overnight fasting window (if appropriate) or stop eating at dusk
A daily routine and rhythm of doing the same things at the right time of day, can lower inflammation, and cortisol while helping your body recover and digest better.
When we go against the grain of our natural biology consistently (late nights, erratic eating schedule) we can encounter symptoms or health issues over time.
Traveling back in time
I read a healing story once about a man who healed his gut by living like his great grandmother. Cooking everything from scratch, going to bed and rising with the sun and working outside as much as he could during the day.
His story really struck me. The stressors of modern life put so much pressure on our sensitive guts. The constant demands, notifications, information overload, to-do lists, responsibilities, digital FOMO, processed foods or take out and late night scrolling, challenge what our ancient body were built to handle.
It is no wonder that people are struggling right now. We are so out of balance with our own nature.
The point is not to live a perfect life, driven by a healing “schedule”. It is just to be mindful of your routine and what changes would make the most difference. Doing more is not the point here. It is doing less with a few adjustments to your schedule.
Simply reflect on how you can get more in tune with your natural biology, to support your digestion, energy and sleep.
Things like eating earlier at night, getting morning or eating lunch outside. Walking after you eat or reading a book by dim light instead of scrolling can make a huge difference to your gut and this is why.
Homemade meals, gardening, resting or moving during the day will channel the energy of our ancestors who did not suffer with our modern, stress-driven, out of sync lives.
Hopefully you now understand how our bodies are built to thrive and start working WITH that design instead of against it.
Nature heals and we are part of nature. So living in tune with our bodies design is going to help you digest, sleep, and balance your hormones better. Pick just one habit from above and add it to your life, noticing the shift it makes, and then add another.
I know it’s not easy to change your habits but now you understand why it matters.
