What is Circadian Rhythm?

Many people don’t know what circadian rhythm means. It’s like having a clock inside you that makes your body and mind change throughout the day. In a day, your body goes through different rhythms and reacts to them.

Circadian rhythm affects:

  • Your body temperature
  • Blood pressure
  • How well you coordinate movements
  • Your heart and blood flow
  • How your stomach and bowels work
  • Your feelings and emotions
  • Making certain hormones like melatonin and cortisol

Everyone’s daily rhythm varies, influenced by work hours, lifestyle pace, and stress levels. However, you can’t trick your internal clock. Ignoring your body’s needs can disrupt individual processes. Leading to various issues like digestive problems, emotional instability, anxiety, tingling sensations, muscle and joint pain, and hormonal imbalances.

The Science of Sleep: How CBD May Impact Your Circadian Rhythms

The Circadian Rhythm’s Journey from Morning to Night

  • 6:45 AM: Blood pressure sharply rises.
  • 7:30 AM: Melatonin secretion ends (it’s a sleep hormone).
  • 8:30 AM: Time for bowel movements.
  • 9:00 AM: Testosterone secretion begins.
  • 10:00 AM: Alertness kicks in.
  • 2:30 PM: Coordination peaks.
  • 3:30 PM: Reflexes are at their fastest.
  • 5:00 PM: You’re at your strongest with the best heart function.
  • 6:30 PM: Blood pressure reaches its peak.
  • 7:00 PM: Body temperature is highest.
  • 9:00 PM: Melatonin secretion starts (lasts until 7:30 AM).
  • 10:30 PM: End of bowel movements.
  • 2:00 AM: Deepest sleep.
  • 4:30 AM: Body temperature is lowest.

It’s tough for anyone to perfectly match their circadian rhythm, especially when dealing with shift work, illness, excessive stress, or taking care of a young child. When our routines get thrown off, our bodies try to cope, but over time, this imbalance can harm our health. It can weaken our immune system, making us more vulnerable to illness, and strain our mental well-being.

However, there are ways to support our circadian rhythm:

  1. Sunlight and fresh air
  2. Consistency
  3. Exercise
  4. Nighttime rest, daytime activity
  5. Healthy eating

When our circadian rhythm gets thrown off, our bodies feel it right away.In just a few days, you might start feeling tired, irritable, or have some issues with your digestion. But if things stay off track for too long, it can lead to more serious health problems like sleep problems, weight gain, depression, or even Alzheimer’s disease.

Think about how people lived in ancient times. They followed the natural rhythm of day and night, listening to their bodies and acting on intuition. They weren’t as influenced by outside pressures and focused on what was best for them. While life back then had its challenges, they were more in tune with their bodies, emotions, and needs.

It’s fascinating that pregnant women can impact their unborn babies’ circadian rhythms. The baby inside can sense the different cycles, how they fit together, and how the mother follows them. When moms-to-be stick to a regular routine, it’s more likely their babies will be calmer and adjust better to a new schedule after birth.

Our circadian rhythm reacts to light and darkness. Signaling to our brain when it’s time to produce melatonin (the sleep hormone) at night. And preparing our bodies to raise temperature, blood pressure, and release cortisol at dawn. This can be challenging, especially for people working in shifts, where the schedule keeps changing.

CBD as a Support

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is gaining attention for its potential benefits. With sleep improvement being one of the most discussed. Research studies and user reviews have highlighted its ability to help with insomnia. A condition officially affecting about twenty percent of the population, though it may be even more widespread. Many users report experiencing positive changes in their sleep after just a few weeks of using CBD.

CBD has a unique way of affecting sleep. It influences various processes in the body, helping to restore balance and relieve overall stress, leading to better quality sleep at night.

Indirect Benefits of CBD for Sleep:

  • Improves mood (promotes serotonin and dopamine production)
  • Prevents anxiety and stress
  • Dampens chronic pain
  • Increases libido
  • Relieves skin problems

Scientists are still studying CBD to see how it works, but they haven’t found a direct link to sleep yet. Back in the 1980s, they gave 15 people 160 mg of CBD each day and found they slept better and longer. But because only a few people were tested, they couldn’t be sure if CBD really helped with sleep.

In 2017, experts looked at CBD for people who talk or walk in their sleep. They found that CBD helped many of them sleep better. But a year later, when they studied CBD from whole plants, they saw similar results in helping insomnia. But since these plants contain other things besides CBD, they couldn’t be sure if it was only the CBD that helped.

Some studies even say that CBD might make people more awake. Small amounts might wake you up, while bigger amounts might make you sleepy. But because everyone’s body is different, it’s hard to know how CBD will affect you until you try it yourself.

Final Word

The circadian rhythm is like an internal clock that works in everyone’s body, guiding it on what it needs. But things like stress, too much exposure to blue light, not getting enough sleep, not exercising, and other modern problems can disrupt its natural flow. Supporting good sleep is really important to help restore balance in the body. While research hasn’t come to a clear conclusion yet, CBD might help with insomnia and improve how different processes work in the body.