340-SYNC_PodcastDST

Jenny Swisher: [00:00:00] Welcome friends [00:01:00] to this episode of the Sync Your Life podcast. Today we’re diving into the topic of daylight savings, circadian rhythm, and how this actually might matter for your hormones more than you think. So, have you ever noticed that the week after daylight savings time, which is actually the time I’m recording this podcast, you feel off tired, moody?

Maybe you’re craving more sugar or coffee, you might blame it on a busy schedule, but the real culprit could actually be your circadian rhythm. And yes, even just that one hour clock change can actually throw off your hormones. Today we’re unpacking how daylight savings impacts your internal clock. Why that matters for hormones like cortisol, melatonin, and even your sex hormones, and what you can do to reset yourself quickly.

So as an overview, your circadian rhythm is your body’s 24 hour internal clock. It governs when you feel awake, when you get sleepy, how your metabolism functions, and even when hormones are released. You can kind of think of it like a symphony. Cortisol rises in the morning. It’s highest within 30 minutes of waking, and it slowly tapers throughout the day.

As melatonin comes in to rescue [00:02:00] for nighttime, melatonin rises at night to help you sleep. Estrogen and progesterone follow more subtle rhythms throughout the cycle, and thyroid hormones play back, and this all keeps your metabolism humming. The catch is that your circadian rhythm is anchored by light exposure, especially morning sunlight.

Hmm, interesting. So when we spring forward or fall back, our external clocks change, but our biological clocks don’t. Research is showing even a one hour shift can affect sleep quality. Maybe you fall asleep later or wake up earlier because your body’s ready. Cortisol timing, your stress hormone peaks at the wrong time, leaving you groggy or wired, or even melatonin release your sleep hormone is delayed or maybe starts too early.

Disrupting your deep sleep. I can speak to this as I wear an AA ring and as I record this four days after the change to daylight savings, I can tell you that my sleep has been disrupted all week long, and my community members in the sync program are all saying the same thing. , Those who track their sleep, , this can also affect insulin sensitivity.

It can affect [00:03:00] our hunger hormones, changes in leptin and ghrelin can actually make us crave carbs or feel hungrier for my fellow women in perimenopause, maybe over the age of 35, who already experience hormonal variability. I wanna just tell you this small clock change can make it hit harder. Your body’s feedback loops are already adapting and daylight savings throws another wrench into the system.

So let’s connect this to hormones. Like why does this really apply to women? Well, we’ve talked before here on the podcast, and I’ll link it up for you in the show notes. Women are both circadian and infra dian beings. But when our circadian rhythm gets disrupted, it can actually affect our infra rhythm or our menstrual cycles.

Hormones like cortisol, melatonin, our thyroid hormones, and even estrogen, interact with our body’s circadian timing. So when that timing goes off, we might notice things like waking sometime around 3:00 AM. Maybe we have an afternoon slump or we feel exhausted by four or 5:00 PM or maybe a little bit more brain foggy, right?

PMS symptoms could flare more intensely. Our mood could shift, or we might sense more anxiety. Well, [00:04:00] estrogen and progesterone both rely on quality sleep for proper metabolism and receptor sensitivity. So when sleep timing is off, you can get more pronounced hormone fluctuations. Things like mood changes, bloating, fatigue, even if your hormone levels haven’t changed.

There’s even evidence that long-term circadian misalignment, like those who work shifts or chronic late night light exposure, may increase risks for metabolic changes, insulin resistance, and thyroid dysfunction. Isn’t this crazy how just one hour, a one hour shift can make such an impact on our health?

So the good news is, though, that our circadian system is remarkably adaptive. We can actually help it recalibrate in just a few days with some simple steps. So the first, of course, is quite obvious. Get morning light exposure.

Go outside within 30 minutes of waking, even 10 minutes if you can. When you can get in front of the sunlight even for just a few minutes, it can signal your brain’s master clock that it’s daytime, which helps reset melatonin and cortisol cycles. Also avoid bright screens at nighttime. Of course, we should [00:05:00] always be doing this, but especially as we transition our bodies with daylight savings, avoiding bright blue light at nighttime can really make a big impact.

Blue light after sunset delays melatonin release, so try dimming lights maybe two hours before bedtime. Use warm lighting or wear blue blocking glasses if you absolutely have to be on a device. And then also keep a consistent wake up time. Going to bed at the same time matters less than waking up consistently.

So make sure that your morning wake up time stays the same. Now, I know this is hard, especially even for me. I have a a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old, and they don’t adjust to daylight savings very well. So if they’re up early, I’m up early. So this can be a hard one to control. Support your sleep hormones naturally.

So things like magnesium glycinate, hopefully you’re already taking that. Herbal teas, calming routines, breath work. This can all help our melatonin rise naturally. And then finally, watch your caffeine intake and watch your alcohol intake. Well, hopefully, if you’ve been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you’re limiting your alcohol, uh, at the very [00:06:00] least, and even caffeine.

But during this week, especially when our bodies are sort of. Outta whack. This is especially when we should pay attention, maybe reducing our caffeine intake. We can’t just rely on that cup of coffee or two or three to get us through this daylight savings transition. Both of these things, caffeine and alcohol, can blunt our deep sleep and it can interfere with hormonal repair cycles overnight.

So really, we could actually be delaying the process of our body adapting to these time changes. So here’s the bigger picture, right? Let’s talk about the takeaways. Hormonal balance isn’t just about levels. It’s about timing. So when your sleep and light exposure are synced with your body clock, your hormones have rhythm and predictability.

But when your clock is off, whether it’s from daylight savings or maybe you’re traveling and you’ve got jet lag, even perfect lab results can’t save you from feeling unbalanced. So supporting our circadian rhythm is one of the most underrated tools in midlife hormone health. I will link up for you previous episodes on this topic.

We’ve talked about this before. We’ve talked about circadian rhythm and um, you know, daylight and light [00:07:00] exposure and earthing and grounding, and I’ll make sure that I link those up for you in case you wanna dive deeper. So, as we wrap up, as we move through daylight savings, treat your body gently. Get outside in the morning, dim your lights at night, protect your sleep like it’s a hormone prescription.

Your hormones are listening to the light. Help them stay in rhythm and they’ll help you feel grounded, energized, and balanced all year long. So until we have to deal with this again in the spring, my friends, thank you so much for tuning in. If you found this helpful, please share it out with your friends.

Until next time, we’ll talk soon. I. [00:08:00]