Summary

Three changes that fixed a circadian misalignment I didn't know I had and gave me back the energy I was working so hard to find.

Self-sabotage often hides inside good intentions - my behaviors that felt productive were actually working against me
A consistent sleep-wake schedule is the single most powerful signal you can give your body to optimize your brain and body functioning
Morning sunlight tells your body the day has started and increased daily energy follows almost immediately
Eating meals at inconsistent times catches your digestive system off guard, increasing blood sugar spikes and crashes, bloating and brain fog

Keep Reading

“How are you doing Patrick?” My audit partner asks, as I enter his office and pull out a chair to take a seat in front of his immaculately organized desk. “I’m really good, thanks! How are you?” But I was not good, not at all. I was about to present the key findings of our audit to our partner but I was absolutely exhausted and struggling to focus.

My manager steps through the door, takes a seat and we begin. I start by giving the summary of our key findings - so far so good. Our partner then begins to ask some very good and valid questions. Questions which I know the answers to, which I should be able to respond to. But for some reason, my mind goes blank. I can barely recall my birth date let alone the reason why the client’s receivables have increased this financial year.

My voice starts to shake and my palms become sweaty as my eyes dart anxiously around the room. My manager jumps in between my “umms” and “aahhs” to reassure the partner. We just about manage to get through. As we step outside and walk away my manager turns to me: “Are you okay Patrick? You seemed a little off in there?” “I’m fine thanks” I replied sheepishly, “just a little tired and I don’t know why.”

Where I Went Wrong

*“Just a little tired and I don’t know why” - this was when it all started for me and I started to focus on my habits.*

As I reflect back now, that “why” is very clear to me. My lifestyle and behaviors at the time when I began my career with PwC in Dubai, were completely out of whack with my body’s natural rhythms. With the best of intentions, I was subconsciously self-sabotaging.

Monday to Friday, I'd jump in a taxi to the office and chain myself to my desk all day, barely setting foot outside. I'd leave anywhere between 7:00 and 11:00 PM depending on the day's demands, so my sleep-wake timing swung wildly.

Any exercise got crammed in late at night, since I never felt I had the time (or energy) for it in the morning. I'd often forget to eat during the day, then tuck into a heavy dinner before rolling into bed with my phone, to do some late-night scrolling in my attempt to “switch off” and “wind-down” (any of these behaviors sound familiar?). In short, my circadian rhythm was completely misaligned.

What is this “circadian misalignment”? You might be thinking.

It is when there is a mismatch between our internal body (or circadian) clock and our daily behaviours. Think of your internal circadian clock as the conductor and all of the organs of your body as the musicians. Each musician knows the instrument and notes they need to play, but only come in when they receive the cue from the conductor.

When our daily behaviours and our body clock are aligned, the orchestra plays beautifully. Think Beethoven’s 5th Symphony by the Vienna Philharmonic. The conductor is able to cue in each musician - with the flick of their baton and a nod of their head - at just the right time. Your adrenal glands release cortisol (to increase energy) just as you wake, your pineal gland releases melatonin (cue sleepiness) just as you need to start winding down.

When there is a misalignment, however, it sounds like a prep school orchestra recital gone horribly wrong. The trumpets violently interrupt the violin solo, the cymbals crash during the tender clarinet passage. The conductor is waving his baton in comical confusion, unsure when to cue in who.

How I Fixed It

Here are the 3 specific changes I made, to give my conductor the consistent, predictable signals it needed to have my internal systems running smoothly:

1. I put in place a consistent sleep-wake schedule

“The one behaviour most predictive of physiological and psychological functioning is the consistency of our sleep-wake timing.” Dr Kristen Holmes - Global Head of Human Performance and Principal scientist at Whoop.

*Consistent sleep-wake timing boosts your energy and helps you sleep better.*

I decided that I would get into bed each day (without my phone) at 10:00 PM and set my alarm for 6:00 AM. After a few days on this new schedule, my body clock was then able to predict when I would need to wake up, when I needed to be alert during the day and when I needed to wind down. To be able to stick to my new bed-time, I set a default cut-off time for work each day of 6:30 PM.

My all day energy increased, my sleep latency (how long it took me to fall asleep once I got into bed) dropped and my sleep efficiency (how much of my time I spent in bed I actually spent asleep) increased - meaning more and better quality sleep.

2. I got morning sunlight in the first hour of waking

I made a point of getting outside for 5-20 minutes (depending on whether it was sunny or cloudy), within the first hour of waking. That consistent signal of the early sunlight was information to my conductor that the day had started - my daily energy levels increased almost immediately.

3. I ate breakfast and dinner at (roughly) the same time each day

I would eat breakfast at around 8:00 AM before going to work and would eat dinner in the evening at 7:00 PM (give or take about 30 minutes). My digestive organs were now able to learn to anticipate when food was coming so that my body could digest and metabolise the food most effectively.

Before, my scattered meal times were catching my digestive system off guard - exaggerated blood sugar spikes and crashes, bloating, a persistent inability to focus. As my meal times became more regular, all of that disappeared.

*I always try get out in the morning for some morning sunlight!*

Going forward

With this new schedule, there was no more brain fog in partners’ offices or lying in bed “tired but wired”. I also suddenly found that previously elusive morning energy and started working out before work - that was a welcome, unexpected bonus. Oh and having that default cut-off time for work also interestingly increased my productivity - thank you Parkinson’s Law.

And so, here’s my challenge to you for this week: pick just one of these three behaviours and commit to it for a week.

If you have a wearable, notice how it impacts your sleep efficiency and sleep latency. If you don’t have a wearable, notice how you feel in the morning and how long it takes you to fall asleep at night. Then, sit back and enjoy the music.

Deepen Your Curiosity

For those interested in tracking their sleep and other data, WHOOP are currently running a free 1-month trial. We have no affiliation with them, just believe it is a great opportunity to try before having to commit to buying one!
A podcast I’ve recommended before and I will recommend again because it is that good (!) - Dr Kristen Holmes of WHOOP on Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better Live More - "The New Science Of The Body Clock".
For the more sciency amongst you - Dr Sachin Panda's The Circadian Code is the book that first properly introduced me to circadian biology. He's one of the world's leading circadian scientists, whose research has shaped and revolutionized how we understand the human body today.

How I Fixed My Energy Problem