HEALTH & WELLNESS / 15 APRUL 2025
How to Reset Your Circadian Rhythm – A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Sleep
Author: Rachel Chalmers
If you’re like most adults, your days are spent working in a room illuminated by artificial light, caffeinated drink in hand – and your nights are spent scrolling through social media, blue light blazing. While the urge to caffeinate and doomscroll is understandable (modern life is demanding, and we all deserve downtime), these behaviours can confuse our circadian rhythm, negatively impacting daytime energy, sleep quality and whole body health.
Understanding Nature’s Timepiece
The circadian rhythm is the body’s natural 24-hour ‘body clock’, responsible for regulating various physiological processes, from the sleep-wake cycle to hormone release. While circadian rhythm is relatively fixed, it can be influenced by external cues like exposure to light and darkness – previous generations woke at sunrise and wound down at sunset, but modern life has turned our collective circadian rhythm on its head.
The good news? By making a few simple adjustments and adding Morning & Night to your wind-down routine, you can enjoy better sleep and more daytime energy as you navigate modern life in 2025.
Have you ever travelled across time zones, only to find that exposure to morning light seemed to wash symptoms of jet lag away? Morning light exposure is critical in resetting the circadian rhythm, whether you’re travelling or simply trying to improve your at-home sleep routine. A study in Sleep Health found that people who spend more time in natural morning light tend to fall asleep more quickly and experience fewer sleep disturbances – if you can, aim for at least 30 minutes of sunlight exposure within an hour of waking.
Mimicking the sleep routines of our ancestors,try to engage in calming activities before bed – avoid screens, sugary snacks or late-night exercise classes, and instead try reading, meditating, or taking a warm bath. When it’s time to head to bed, our sleep expert, Natalie Pennicotte-Collier, recommends keeping your bedroom cool, dark and quiet to create a physiologically ideal sleep setting.
Sudden changes to your sleep schedule can shock your circadian rhythm and cause symptoms akin to jet lag. Instead, have a ‘bedtime goal’ in mind, and try making gradual adjustments – The Sleep Foundation recommends shifting your bedtime by 15 or 30 minutes every few days, until you reach your desired schedule.
As you begin your evening wind-down routine, reduce exposure to artificial light, especially blue light emitted by screens (we recommend introducing a ‘screen ban’ two hours before bedtime). Our brains can confuse artificial blue light with natural sunlight, suppressing production of the sleep hormone, melatonin. But if you can’t take your eyes off your screen before bedtime, consider using blue light filters on your phone, or wearing blue light-blocking glasses.
As with any wellness routine, consistency is key. Your circadian rhythm is cyclical and sensitive to abrupt changes, and erratic bedtimes and wake times can add to feelings of fatigue. Avoid the temptation to sleep in on a weekend or attend a 5am spin class once a week – try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, Monday through Sunday.
What you consume and how you exercise impacts every bodily system, including circadian rhythm. In the hours leading up to bedtime, avoid heavy meals, alcohol and caffeine (which can stay in your system for up to 12 hours, according to The Sleep Foundation), as these can interfere with sleep. As for exercise, aim to complete vigorous workouts at least two hours before bed, as late night exercise can disrupt production of the sleep hormone, melatonin.
While it may be tempting to reach for over-the-counter sleeping pills or prescription sleep aids, these can only be used for short periods, and they often come with undesirable side effects. Instead, our biologist-developed, clinically tested Morning & Night supplement supports sleep on a daily basis with ingredients like Magnesium, Sage and Glycine. In our independent, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 84% reported better sleep, fewer night wakings and increased daytime energy with the support of Morning & Night.
A Word From Our Sleep Expert, Natalie Pennicotte-Collier
“From the moment that most people wake up in the western world, they are confusing their body clocks – hitting snooze, waking up at irregular times, flooding their body with artificial light – and at night, most people tell me they relax by looking at multiple screens. [Our] inner physiology is in chaos, and Morning & Night provides the solution to this number one wellness stressor, circadian disruption.”
Natalie Pennicotte-Collier, Consultant Sleep Expert
