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and Your Circadian Rhythm

By Dan Lempriere

 

Sleep is one of the most important factors in maintaining optimal health. Today we live in a fast paced high stress environment that allows us to have something to do 24 hours of the day. We live in a world full of artificial light so it makes it easy for us to take for granted the natural sleep/wake cycles that Mother Nature intended us to follow. This natural cycle is called your circadian rhythm.

 

The rise and fall of the sun affects every living organism on this plant. You only have to watch the national geographic channel to see the effects it has. If you have ever been camping you will have experienced that as the sun sets you feel yourself start to wind down and you then feel like going to bed about 3 or 4 hours later. You look at your watch and are surprised to find that what felt like 11pm or midnight is only 10pm. You then rise in the morning felling as though you have woken late only to find that it is 6:30am. Before the introduction of artificial light this is how sleep/wake patterns or your circadian rhythm were.

 

If you close your eyes you will find that your eyelids don’t completely bloke the light making it dark. Light still gets though. When enough light stimulates the eyes, regardless of the source, a signal is sent to your brain to tell you its morning. Your brain in response to the light then activates your hormonal system which naturally releases cortisol. Light is a form of electromagnetic stress, a little one but a form of stress that activates the release of cortisol, an activating hormone, and prepares the body for movement and our daily activities.

 

As the sun continues to rise and our body experiences more stress through light our cortisol levels also will continue to rise and they will peak around 9am. They continue to stay high up until around 12 and begin to drop in the afternoon and continue to do so till after the sun goes down. So as the day goes on our stress hormones decrease. Cortisol levels drop so that it can allow for the release of melatonin and increase levels of growth and repair hormones. From sunset onwards are bodies are designed to wind down and our bodies will increase the production of growth and repair hormones. At around 10pm we start our sleep and at this stage our body then begins its physical repair. This is a very important phase especially for those that have been doing any kind of physical exercise throughout the day. The physical repair cycle is from about 10-2am. Your muscles need this time to get the best results for repair and growth. So if you are someone that goes to bed at 12 then you will only get 2 hours of physical repair. From 2-6am most of our immune/ repair energies are used for psychological repair. This has a lot to do with brain function and neurological repair and a loss of sleep in this time can result in increased headaches, personality and neurological disorders and musculoskeletal injuries.

 

 

 

The red line represents cortisol or stress hormone release. The blue line represents melatonin and growth and repair hormones.

 

The problem is these days due to our fast paced, high stressed, hectic lifestyle’s a large majority of the population experience disruption to there natural sleep/wake cycles. Things like working late, having artificial light, drinking coffee, eating late, watching TV and reading before bed are all reasons as to why you may be experiencing problems or disruptions to your sleep/wake cycles. With things like artificial light and watching TV are electromagnetic stresses which the brain interprets as sunlight. This keeps the cortisol levels up in the body when they should be going down. Cortisol takes hours to leave the blood stream. Because the levels are high it prevents the normal release of melatonin and other growth/immune hormones which will give your immune system less time to repair. Too much exposure to stress before bed can also lead to adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue is common among those that take to much caffeine, cigarettes, drugs or other stimulants as the adrenal glands are constantly stressed having to produce activating hormones like cortisol. Symptoms from this are things like chronic fatigue syndrome, viral infections, headaches and bacterial and fungal infections.

 

 

 

The red line represents cortisol or stress hormone release on a highly stressed person.

 

Depriving your body of sleep or its natural circadian rhythm dramatically affects your quality of life and is a major contributing factor in your health and longevity. Sleep deprivation affects your health in many ways such as having hormonal and metabolic imbalances, accelerated ageing, high blood pressure, obesity, memory dysfunction, it plays a factor in the onset of diabetes, headaches, neck aches, low energy levels, poor recovery and decreased concentration. So look at getting back to your natural sleep/wake cycles or your natural circadian rhythm to experience a higher quality of life and all the benefits a good night’s sleep brings with it.

 

Here are some tips to help with sleep. If sleep is a problem then make everyone of these tips part of your life.

 

Get 8-9 hours sleep per night.

The body needs this time to recover. If you ask around you will find that a majority of the population do not get this amount. Getting 8-9 hours sleep per night means you need to get at least 56 hours of sleep per week. Each hour you don’t get is an hour of sleep deprivation. Test yourself how many hours do you get?

 

Get to bed by 10:30pm each night.

Remember the body performs most of its repair between 10pm and 6am. Getting to bed by 10:30 means that you must get to sleep by that time. If you need time to wind down then make the appropriate adjustments.

 

Sleep in a comfortable bed.

If your mattress is old and sagging, if it creaks and makes noises every time you move or you wake feeling stiff or have back pain then you need to address this problem as it dramatically affecting your sleep patterns. You spend 8-9 hours on your bed everyday so you need to have a good quality mattress and base to sleep on.

 

Make your sleep and wake times the same each day. (Even on weekends)

This help the body get into a natural circadian rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and wake up.

 

Avoid exposure to bright lights.

Your body will sense this as sunlight and keep the body awake. Try using a dimmer switch or candles and allow the light to gradually dim at least 2 hours before bed. This is a good one for getting children asleep also.

 

Avoid TV and reading before bed.

The light from the TV is a light stimulant and your body doesn’t know it isn’t sunlight so it keeps putting out cortisol the waking hormone. Reading also stimulates the brain. If you are going to read then read something that is relaxing and peaceful.

 

Make your room completely dark.

When light hits the eyes, even a little bit, the brain registers it as sunlight and you will wake. Do what ever you have to so as to make your room pitch black. If you can’t do that then wear something over eyes such as a sleep mask or dark t-shirt. I have found this alone to be one of the biggest contributing factors to my improved quality of sleep.

 

Avoid stimulants before bed.

Be aware of stimulants such as caffeine, cigarettes, drugs or alcohol before bed. Try and avoid caffeine after lunch as caffeine has a half life of 6-12hours so half that caffeine from coffee you had at 1 will still be in your system at 10:30 when you want to sleep still stimulating cortisol release keeping you up. Be mindful of deserts that may contain caffeine also.

 

Keep the bedroom at a comfortable temperature.

If the bedroom is to hot or to cold then you will have trouble getting to sleep as the body sees this as a stress and needs to heat or cool itself to regulate its temperature.

 

Wear socks to bed.

The feet are an area on the body that have the poorest circulation and feel the cold disrupting sleep.

 

Drink plenty of water.

If the body senses you are dehydrated then it is stressed. If it feels stress then the body puts out stress hormones which are awaking hormones.

 

Avoid electromagnetic fields in the bedroom.

Try moving all electrical appliances such as TV’s, clocks and lights. These appliances omit an electromagnetic field that can disrupt the bodies own electromagnetic field disrupting your sleep and function. If your sleep improves then rearrange your room so all electrical appliances are as far away from the bed as possible. Do not use electric blankets.

 

Avoid eating before bed and eat right for your metabolic type.

A rise or fall in blood sugar leaves due to having too many carbohydrates before bed can put the body under stress. Eating before bed can also disrupt the digestive system impairing sleep.

 

Move the clock out of sight.

Make it so you are unable to see the time. If you have trouble getting to sleep then constantly looking at can provoke worry and waking worrying about how little sleep you have left doesn’t help either.

 

Avoid loud alarm clocks.

If you won’t to wake feeling good then avoid loud startling noises as this is very stressful to the body and can set you up for a bad day. If you sleep and wake at the same time each day then your body will naturally wake. You can try a noise that starts very soft and gradually gets louder or try a dawn simulator that gradually emits lights mimicking the sun.

 

Try keeping a journal.

If you lie in bed with thoughts racing through your head then it might pay to right them down in a journal. Writing them down helps to free up and clear your mind.

 

Limit drug use.

Prescription and over the counter drugs may affect your ability to sleep. Consult your doctor and make sure they don’t impair sleep.

 

Avoid alcohol.

Alcohol does make you fall to sleep but it doesn’t last long. You awake a short time after. It also stops you from falling into deeper stages of sleep or REM sleep. This is where the body does most of its repair.

 

Need to urinate?

If you wake going to the toilet during the night try not to consume any water within 2hours of going to bed.

 

Try using relaxing music.

Try listening to soothing, hypnotic or relaxation music as these calm the body making it easier to fall to sleep.

 

Try exercising

Exercise is a great stress release and will help you sleep better at night. Be careful of the time and type of exercise. As some exercise can be stressful on the body releasing cortisol into the body and if it is done to late at night then you will find it hard to get to sleep.

 

Take a hot bath or shower.

Taking a hot bath or shower has a soothing affect on the body making it easier to get to sleep.

 

Keep your work out of the bedroom.

If you are doing work in your bedroom and it is stressful then when you go to go to sleep the body senses the environment it is in as a stressful one and you will have trouble getting to sleep.

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Oh that article was an excellent reminder! Our society is nuts...think of how much of that is not practiced anymore!
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Ultra what is your experience with prozac.

 

I was put on it in 1994 along with the lovely Xanax which soon was changed to klonopin. It was my second-to-last psych med that I tapered off of. On it about 21+ years. Klonopin is the last med I'm tapering from. Prozac taper happened before I knew anything about tapering in general (micro-taper, etc.). You?

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Ultra what is your experience with prozac.

 

I was put on it in 1994 along with the lovely Xanax which soon was changed to klonopin. It was my second-to-last psych med that I tapered off of. On it about 21+ years. Klonopin is the last med I'm tapering from. Prozac taper happened before I knew anything about tapering in general (micro-taper, etc.). You?

Haven't been on physc drugs for long.Just been on the rivotril as per my signature.

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Oh that article was an excellent reminder! Our society is nuts...think of how much of that is not practiced anymore!

Benzo withdrawal can school you a bunch.After this experience you learn so much about health and self care.

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jasmine...the morning surges do lessen, come and go. takes awhile for the adrenals to reset. I hate it too. But....the past two days were really minimal for me! yay!!! 

 

 

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Jasmine I know you have really gone through so much and I deeply sympathise and relate with you. What I can advise is creating a morning routine.
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My circadian rhythm was always off.  So was my Mom's and her Mom, but at least they could nap.  I can't.

 

It is from the abnormal sleep I got on benzos decades ago.  All was good until mirtazapine for 6 weeks, then went off a cliff and not sure how to get back on.

 

So rare, but got some sleep last night and then felt horrible/depressed/could not move all day.  But guess that is fairly common.  But it is hard to carry on ;(

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Were your mums on benzos too.?

My circadian rhythm was always off.  So was my Mom's and her Mom, but at least they could nap.  I can't.

 

It is from the abnormal sleep I got on benzos decades ago.  All was good until mirtazapine for 6 weeks, then went off a cliff and not sure how to get back on.

 

So rare, but got some sleep last night and then felt horrible/depressed/could not move all day.  But guess that is fairly common.  But it is hard to carry on ;(

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Were your mums on benzos too.?

My circadian rhythm was always off.  So was my Mom's and her Mom, but at least they could nap.  I can't.

 

It is from the abnormal sleep I got on benzos decades ago.  All was good until mirtazapine for 6 weeks, then went off a cliff and not sure how to get back on.

 

So rare, but got some sleep last night and then felt horrible/depressed/could not move all day.  But guess that is fairly common.  But it is hard to carry on ;(

 

No, not at all that I am aware of.

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Were your mums on benzos too.?

My circadian rhythm was always off.  So was my Mom's and her Mom, but at least they could nap.  I can't.

 

It is from the abnormal sleep I got on benzos decades ago.  All was good until mirtazapine for 6 weeks, then went off a cliff and not sure how to get back on.

 

So rare, but got some sleep last night and then felt horrible/depressed/could not move all day.  But guess that is fairly common.  But it is hard to carry on ;(

 

No, not at all that I am aware of.

 

 

Circadian rhythm sucks when it is out of whack.

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My mother and her Mom would be up til 3 am...  but I took it to a whole new level.  And could not nap, ever...  that before benzos.

 

Whether they made it worse, I don't know.  For decades they worked, until mirtazapine.

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My mother and her Mom would be up til 3 am...  but I took it to a whole new level.  And could not nap, ever...  that before benzos.

 

Whether they made it worse, I don't know.  For decades they worked, until mirtazapine.

 

Sleep is a mystery. I used to enjoy sleep but now mornings feel like therapy.

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Hey all.How are the mornings progressing. I find that mine are unpredictable but not as bad as before.

 

The mornings are still miserable from about 3:45am until approximately noon. Just depends on the stress of the day. I started my taper over 5 years ago, and sleep has been the biggest challenge in addition to GI fun. One foot in front of the other and we'll all eventually get there. Very few sports this fall is going to make a lot of it sadder  :-[

 

Hang tight!

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Hey all.How are the mornings progressing. I find that mine are unpredictable but not as bad as before.

It is really hard to comprehend the truth at times.But acceptance is the only way out I guess.

 

The mornings are still miserable from about 3:45am until approximately noon. Just depends on the stress of the day. I started my taper over 5 years ago, and sleep has been the biggest challenge in addition to GI fun. One foot in front of the other and we'll all eventually get there. Very few sports this fall is going to make a lot of it sadder  :-[

 

Hang tight!

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I'm about 24 months out, give or take and the mornings from hell are back in full force right now. I slept well last night but woke up this morning to back/neck pain, floaters, nausea, tinnitus, brain fog.... ugh. It's made focusing on work extremely difficult this morning. I haven't been nauseous from bad mornings in over a year now and it sucks to be back in this place. I went to the store and bought one of those apple cider vinegar tonics with both ginger and tumeric to see if that helps. Really hoping I can get through the day/week with work right now. Feeling really discouraged at feeling this badly this far out right now.
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I'm about 24 months out, give or take and the mornings from hell are back in full force right now. I slept well last night but woke up this morning to back/neck pain, floaters, nausea, tinnitus, brain fog.... ugh. It's made focusing on work extremely difficult this morning. I haven't been nauseous from bad mornings in over a year now and it sucks to be back in this place. I went to the store and bought one of those apple cider vinegar tonics with both ginger and tumeric to see if that helps. Really hoping I can get through the day/week with work right now. Feeling really discouraged at feeling this badly this far out right now.

 

Yep, that really is a lot and especially since you're that far out. Are you positive that it's a protracted withdrawal from the taper/cut? Just making sure that there's nothing else going on. Crazy times!

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I'm about 24 months out, give or take and the mornings from hell are back in full force right now. I slept well last night but woke up this morning to back/neck pain, floaters, nausea, tinnitus, brain fog.... ugh. It's made focusing on work extremely difficult this morning. I haven't been nauseous from bad mornings in over a year now and it sucks to be back in this place. I went to the store and bought one of those apple cider vinegar tonics with both ginger and tumeric to see if that helps. Really hoping I can get through the day/week with work right now. Feeling really discouraged at feeling this badly this far out right now.

 

Yep, that really is a lot and especially since you're that far out. Are you positive that it's a protracted withdrawal from the taper/cut? Just making sure that there's nothing else going on. Crazy times!

 

Yup! It's definitely still w/d. I made a lot of mistakes in my journey. C/t'd instead of tapered, kindled with other benzos, drank socially, etc. all before I found this website. If I were to guess why the healing process is taking so long that's probably why.  :'(

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I guess when you start napping without waking up feeling like poisoned or like the world looks feels as freddy vs Jason.

And also when the mornings even out that's when you realise healing has really taken a milestone.

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I'm about 24 months out, give or take and the mornings from hell are back in full force right now. I slept well last night but woke up this morning to back/neck pain, floaters, nausea, tinnitus, brain fog.... ugh. It's made focusing on work extremely difficult this morning. I haven't been nauseous from bad mornings in over a year now and it sucks to be back in this place. I went to the store and bought one of those apple cider vinegar tonics with both ginger and tumeric to see if that helps. Really hoping I can get through the day/week with work right now. Feeling really discouraged at feeling this badly this far out right now.

 

Yep, that really is a lot and especially since you're that far out. Are you positive that it's a protracted withdrawal from the taper/cut? Just making sure that there's nothing else going on. Crazy times!

 

Yup! It's definitely still w/d. I made a lot of mistakes in my journey. C/t'd instead of tapered, kindled with other benzos, drank socially, etc. all before I found this website. If I were to guess why the healing process is taking so long that's probably why.  :'(

 

That makes total sense. I guess patience is the best drug at this point. Just let it roll by and then enjoy your healing days. You'll get there! You've got a good attitude, and I think that's a huge part of the game. Til next time.... :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
I’m starting to have these again as I think I’m becoming tolerant to small amount of Valium I’ve been taking to hell wds from zopiclone. I haven’t had these for a few months but back in force now. Doesn’t help that getting very little sleep.
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I’m starting to have these again as I think I’m becoming tolerant to small amount of Valium I’ve been taking to hell wds from zopiclone. I haven’t had these for a few months but back in force now. Doesn’t help that getting very little sleep.

Shayna so bad that mornings have turned out awful again. This process can really challenge.

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