Learn to RESET your own BODY CLOCK

WE all get tired from time to time, but constant fatigue and poor sleep patterns can be an indication of disruptions to your circadian rhythm, the internal 24-hour clock that regulates our sleep-wake cycle.

Our circadian rhythm enables our metabolism to slow down at night and speed up during the day, which is important in terms of cancer because our cells take advantage of the time we’re asleep at night to make vital repairs, helping us to stay healthy.

If these are not completed properly and the important sequence of genes in our DNa gets altered, this can lead cells to mutate when they divide and repair themselves. and this, in turn, leads to cancer.

This poses a risk for shift workers and people who often travel between time zones ( although the pandemic has reduced this for some) including pilots and air stewards.

and the risk increases according to the number of years of sleep disruption, the frequency of rotating work schedules and the number of hours per week working at night. Interestingly, an evaluation of the large UK biobank dataset suggested that women who woke early and did not have more than eight hours of sleep had a lower risk of cancer than women who went to bed late and rose later — suggesting that it is the disruption to the circan dian rhythm rather than lack of sleep itself that is the most important factor.

Chronic disturbance of your body clock is also linked to depression and loss of motivation. Numerous studies have shown that it is also connected to premature ageing, obesity and degenerative conditions — particularly dementia — as well as an increased susceptibility to cancer.

Your body clock is set by a variety of external factors, the most important being the level of light during the day and darkness at night.

Not only do hormone levels vary throughout a 24- hour period, but the sensitivity of different types of cells towards hormones can also change throughout the day. This affects every system in your body, from your immunity and temperature to digestion and excretion.

Feeling exhausted also has an impact on your decision-making, making you more prone to reach for sweet foods as a pick-me-up (and we’ve seen already that there are many ways in which a high-sugar diet is a cancer risk.)

It also makes you less motivated to exercise, and so miss out on all the profound health benefits you can reap from being more active. It is no surprise then, that when your circadian rhythms are properly regulated, you sleep well, you have more energy in the mornings, you are in a better mood and are less tired during the day.

Here’s what I suggest you try:

BE YOUR OWN SLEEP DOCTOR

IF YOU’RE struggling to sleep at night or find your sleep is disturbed you should take a look at your lifestyle habits to see how you could make positive changes to help regulate your body clock.

However, if you are suffering from extreme fatigue to the extent that it is interfering with your daily activities, it would be worth consulting your doctor, as it could be a symptom of anaemia, thyroid disturbance, heart failure or a side- effect of medication.

GO OUT IN THE MORNING

ONE OF the best ways to set your circadian clock is by exposure to bright light (ideally sunlight) during the day, preferably in the morning.

This is because the component of sunlight that tells your circadian clock that it is daytime is blue light. If you work indoors consider getting a light box, which is a device designed to produce blue light, and use it for at least 15 minutes at the same time each morning.

Conversely, to signal to your body it’s night you should keep your indoor lighting dim in the evening.

If you’re using a computer monitor or watching television at night there are two options: either install a flux application in your computer, phone or tablet and set the screen brightness to the lowest setting, or wear amber- tinted glasses for the last two to three hours of your day. Several scientific studies show that wearing these glasses in the evening improves sleep quality and supports production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep–wake cycle. Before you go to bed, switch off phones and tablets and try to sleep in total darkness.

LEARN TO BUST STRESS

THE stress hormone cortisol plays an important role in regulating your body clock, which is why if you’re under stress and your cortisol levels rise, your sleep patterns can be disrupted. Set time aside for exercise, which as we’ve seen causes your body to release chemicals that improve anxiety and mood.

There are also numerous ways to reduce stress, some easily available online include yoga and mindfulness classes, which have been shown to help you unwind and improve sleep patterns.

KEEP A REGULAR BEDTIME

YOUR levels of melatonin (often referred to as the sleep hormone) start increasing two hours before your bedtime in order to prepare your body for sleep.

So if you’re munching a sugary snack ( that produces blood sugar spikes when digested) or watching a scary film during this time then you will be overstimulating your body and affecting your circadian rhythm.

You need to aim for seven or eight hours of sleep every night — so calculate when you need to go to bed and wind down for a couple of hours before this.

DO SPORT TO BOOST SLEEP

WE’VE already seen how important regular activity is for every aspect of your health, but it’s also known that physical exercise helps your body to produce melatonin, which is one of the reasons it helps you to sleep better at night.

But avoid energetic evening gym sessions, as intense exercise keeps you revved up for longer and delays your melatonin production.

Sports scientists have found that regular, light-to-moderate exercise is better than irregular high-intensity exercise — for your general health as well as your sleep.

The issue with irregular highintensity exercise is that it draws heavily on energy reserves and can lead to post- exertional malaise. The best results come from supervised exercise programmes involving a build-up of intensity over several weeks.

EAT MELATONINRICH FOODS

EaTING foods high in melatonin ensures your body has good supplies to use for your natural sleep- cycle. Try to eat more of these foods in the evening. Shellfish is an excellent source of the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted to melatonin in the body. Plant foods rich in melatonin (known as phytomelatonins) include: mushrooms, ginger, pepper, pistachios, tart cherries, cranberries, strawberries, lentils, whole grain rice and corn. a good nightcap would be some grated ginger with hot water, a little lemon and mint.