God's Natural Rhythm Between Day & Night
Circadian rhythms exist in all living creatures and plants. God designed each creature to have certain activities done at night or during day.
For humans, this is clear in our natural wake and sleep cycles. Inside the body, there is roughly 100 of our body systems that have activities related to day and night cycles.
Compared to our ancestors, modern humans are quite separated from God's natural rhythms. With all the modern conveniences and the lifestyle, most people spend very little time in natural light (& darkness). Boost energy naturally and reduce stress by regaining alignment with circadian rhythms.
The quality & quantity of sleep is a key determinant in tomorrow's level energy
Sleep is absolutely critical
Just as much as we need air, water, food and sunlight, our bodies require sleep. It allows our physical systems to restore and maintain themselves. During sleep, our dreams refresh mind and spirit. Without rest, our body runs sub-optimally. This deflates energy. Like a rechargeable battery that does not get recharged fully on a regular basis, our energy gets depleted quickly.
Quantity of sleep required is bio-individual. It is recommended for most adults to have between 7-9 hours. If your body needs healing or you expend a lot of energy through the day, you may feel more vibrant with more rest.
Quality of sleep is about having fewer interruptions in your sleep. Not just the external ones (like sleeping partner, kids, pets, noises, uncomfortable mattress), but the internal ones as well. Digestion, spinning thoughts, unprocessed feelings, needing to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, or snoring are common interruptions.
Role of Darkness in Winding Down
As you look back before modern living, darkness naturally contributed to humans winding down after sunset and the evening meal. Without modern lighting and greater scarcity of candles / oil lights, brightening the dark of night was less common on a regular basis. As our photoreceptors are exposed to less light, the body begins to naturally generate melatonin to help us fall asleep.
In modern living, exposure of darkness in the evening is unusual. Bright lights, TV's, computers and mobile devices are more of the norm. This keeps the body physically stimulated, instead of naturally winding down. If the first time you are exposed to reduced light is as you get to bed, it may take a while to fall asleep.
A tip to recharge energy & support sleep... Reduced Light
Dimming Lights
There are several ways to reduce light exposure in the evening.
- Changing brightness settings in evening on computers or mobile devices
- Usage of blue light blocking glasses to reduce exposure from computers or mobile devices
- Reducing usage of TV, computers or mobile devices by picking an alternate relaxing activity
- This may reduced mental or emotional stimulation too, depending on what you are watching or doing!
- Spending a little bit of time outside to enjoy the evening before getting into the all the preparations for bed
- Dimming or reducing lights turned on as evening goes on
- I joke with my husband this also helps train his eyes for emergency preparedness. Helping him to better navigate the house if needed in the middle of the night. 🙂
Imagine for a moment how you would benefit from a good night's sleep? How would your day would go if you didn't feel exhausted as soon as you started your day? Is it worth it to change your evening routine to feel more energized and excited to meet the day & all that God plans for you?
Experiment for Yourself
For one week, try one (or more of these tips) for yourself at least an hour before preparing for bed.
My personal favorite is switching to Bible study or another book as my husband wraps up whatever he is watching online. When its warm, I enjoy taking the dogs out for their last pee time to enjoy the stars. I wear blue light blocker reading glasses to help with eyestrain throughout the day.
After a week, do you feel differently? Have you experienced better rest? Do you feel recharged in the morning? (If this is not quite enough to help you get fully rested, allow more time between eating and sleep. I'll address this shortly in another post.)
My hope for you...
I hope that these words (or what you experience through trying this tip to Recharge & Unwind) can serve to inspire and energize changes in lifestyle and food choices. You deserve to have flourishing health to be able to serve God, Family & Country.
