Are you caught up in the world of late night TV & not getting to bed at a decent hour?
Well no matter the situation our bodies still run on natural light and dark cycles. Without getting to technical and confusing the mess out of you, our brain and hormonal system respond to light (a form of stress) causing us to think it’s morning. When this happens are body begins to release cortisol, which is a stress hormone, to activate the body and prepare us for movement or whatever is necessary. Cortisol levels peak as the sun rises from 6:00am to 9:00am and slowly decrease as the day continues. As 6:00pm rolls around, cortisol levels are really low which allows for the release of melatonin and the increase of growth and repair hormones. This is how our bodies recover at night for another days work.
Our body begins winding down as the sun sets and at this time is when we should start preparing for a good nights rest. From 10:00pm to 2:00am is when the physical repairs on our body occur the most. After 2:00am is when mental repairs take place, which lasts until we wake up.
So as you continue to watch your late night TV shows, work late or sit in front of your bright computer screen, your body is going through continuous stress. This will cause your cortisol levels to remain above normal because your brain continues to interpret the lights as morning. Cortisol can take many hours to clear your blood system so this in turn would prevent the release of the important immune factors cutting into our repair and healing time. Going to bed after 12:00am means you have already lost about two hours of your physical repair time. Your body can bounce back from short-term circadian stresses but chronic stress often leads to depressed immunity, illness and chronic fatigue.
Get the most of your repair system…sleep!
