Returning customer sign-in · Your cart is currently empty.

Circadian Rhythm

By Darien Simon, M.S.

Most of us have a biological clock that actually works on a 25-hour cycle rather than one that coincides with the length of a 24-hour day in which we are (ideally) active for about 16 hours, and sleeping for about 8 hours. However, we usually don't notice the difference between the natural 25-hour cycle and the 24-hour day because any bright light can reset our internal (circadian) clock, helping to keep us on the 24-hour cycle. When we travel long distances, we affect our circadian clock—we disrupt its natural rhythm—and end up feeling "jet lagged" due to the disruption of our normal sleep pattern. One way to try to combat jet lag is to make sure to expose yourself to bright light around the time you want to wake up in your new time zone. Such exposure can help reset your clock to local time, and allow you to sleep more restfully. Another way to restore your circadian rhythm is to use certain herbs and nutrients, like those found in Dream Boost, which can help you fall asleep on a schedule appropriate to your new time zone. In addition to long distance travel, another way to upset your circadian rhythm is to work at night. Nightshift workers often experience sleep disruptions because their daily schedule is out of sync with the light cues which direct their circadian rhythms. One consequence of this circadian disruption is an increased risk of heart, digestive, emotional, and mental problems as a result of the disruption of the sleep cycle. Chronic sleep disruption and/or severe sleep deprivation can also lead to an increase in the number of workplace accidents at night. Some famous, or infamous, nightshift workplace accidents include Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the Exxon Valdez. But the accidents or errors don't have to be on such a large scale. Sleep-deprived hospital interns working at night are twice as likely to misinterpret test results as are interns working day shifts. Any sleep-deprivation caused errors are unlikely to impact hundreds or thousands of people, but to the people who are impacted, the mistakes can be just as traumatic. As with jet lag, the ingredients in Dream Boost can help nightshift workers sleep deeply and restfully, thus minimizing both sleep debt or deprivation, and their adverse consequences.