[CAN YOU CHANGE YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM?]
You have a natural tendency toward being an early
bird or a night owl, but you can alter that over
time via exposure to light. If you need to work at
night, be in an environment that is brightly lit.
BETTER HEALTH
132 | December 2019
YOUR
INTERNAL
CLOCK
SHIFTS WITH
AGE
1
KIDS
Circadian rhythms
don’t develop
until we’re toddlers;
that’s why babies
sleep and eat
around the clock.
In kids, the rhythm
usually skews early—
waking with the
sun and sleeping
soon after dinner.
2
TEENAGERS
A hormone surge
shifts the inner clock
later—a main reason
why teens stay up
late and sleep late.
3
YOUNG ADULTS
In the early- to
mid-20s, the
circadian rhythm
moves earlier
again, with alertness
being at its best
in the morning and
early evening.
4
AND BEYOND ...
The internal clock
keeps moving earlier
with age. By 60,
your clock can be
up to 90 minutes
earlier than in young
adulthood. ■
Thanks to a peak in
core body temp
(which experts think
signals your brain to
focus and energize),
late morning is when
you’re the most alert.
Tap into that and get
as much done as
possible before lunch,
says Matthew Edlund,
M.D., director of the
Center for Circadian
Medicine in Florida.
The post-lunch dip is
related to how your
circadian rhythm
affects alertness. One
strategy to combat
the slump may be to
take a walk outside;
both exercise and light
can increase energy,
says Kristen Knutson,
Ph.D., associate
professor of neurology
at Northwestern
University’s Feinberg
School of Medicine.
Because you’re naturally
moving around during the
day, your muscles are warm
and ready for exercise
about now. This is also why
your athletic performance
peaks from late morning
to late afternoon, says
Christopher S. Colwell, Ph.D.,
a neuroscientist at the
UCLA School of Medicine.
Got a hard-to-solve situation?
Spend time thinking about
it in the evening. “Creative
problem-solving is better
done when you’re a little
sleepy because you’re less
able to stop your mind
from wandering, which is
often how we come up
with out-of-the-box ideas,”
says Mareike Wieth, Ph.D.,
professor of psychological
science at Albion College.
11 a.m.
get through
your to-do list
1:30 p.m.
run errands
4 p.m.
Do a workout
8 p.m.
Be creative
GOOD TO KNOW
Your circadian
rhythm causes dips
and rises in energy.
You’ll feel them
less intensely if you’ve
slept well.
