How to work with your body’s natural rhythm
Just because we want to stay productive and active throughout the day doesn’t mean that it’s always the best idea. Working with your body's natural rhythm can help you to find the right times to work.
I was chatting with a friend and colleague last week about how to stay productive even on those days when you really can’t be bothered. We all have those low-energy days when everything seems difficult, and we all have those low-energy times of day - like after lunch - when it feels like the only thing worth doing is taking a nap.
The widely accepted office and school hours of 9-5 only really suit around half of us, and may even be harmful to some. So if you find it hard to wake up early, or to focus in the afternoon without a nap, it’s not you that’s wrong. It’s the system.
I understand that not all of us have the opportunity, but for those who can:
Try working with your body’s natural rhythm, rather than against it.
According to webMD, our biological rhythms are tied to a region of the brain that functions as an internal clock and regulates your body’s activity throughout the day. You might have heard of the circadian rhythm (or diurnal cycle) - the 24 hour day and night cycle that largely governs our life - but our bodies also operate on cycles of different lengths.
Our day and night cycle is largely governed by sunlight, the presence of which influences the production of cortisol and melatonin, which in turn contribute to feelings of wakefulness and sleepiness. Exercise, hormones, and medication can also affect our sleep/wake cycle.
Interestingly though, not all of us share the same day and night cycle. In fact, a person's energy levels throughout the day tend to fall into several different categories, or ‘chronotypes’. People of different chronotypes have different times of day when they prefer to sleep or when they are most alert or energetic.
You might be familiar with the terms ‘Early Bird’, and ‘Night Owl’, but in fact, there are more than just these two chronotypes. Much of the accepted literature (linked below) identifies four types, but I also found one study (and here’s an easier to read version) that mentions six.
I don’t want to get too deep into the details, but if you’re interested, then this article and this article have some great information for deeper reading on the four main chronotypes. For a quick overview though, here are the four widely accepted chronotypes:
Bear: 55% of us have a chronotype that largely follows the sun - waking when it rises, and feeling sleepy as night falls. Peak productivity hours are late morning and early afternoon.
Lion: 15% of us are early rising lions who feel most energetic and productive before noon, but struggle after lunch (that’s me!).
Wolf: Another 15% of us aren’t early birds; we’re wolves. If you struggle to get up in the morning, but have bursts of energy in the evening, this you might align most closely with this chronotype.
Dolphin: Around 10% of people struggle to maintain a consistent sleep pattern and are easily disturbed by light and noise. Late morning and early afternoon tend to be highly productive times, though.
Do any of these chronotypes resonate with you?
If so, think about how you can organise your day to take advantage of your best times, and don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t maintain high levels of focus throughout the day.
Not only are you only human, but you’re also an animal too ;-)
Next week, I’ll give you some practical tips for how to best work with your chronotypes, but for now I’d just like to say thank-you for reading. Please hit subscribe if you’ve found this article useful or interesting:
Rich