Use your circadian rhythm to improve your wellbeing
A client vented to me the other day, “Can you please explain to my daughter that she shouldn’t be exercising at night?” Her daughter is in her early 20s and just started a full-time job. “She spends two hours in the gym. Who does that?”
While I agreed with this woman that her daughter shouldn’t be working out at 10pm, it was for reasons different than those she mentioned. As a mother, she was worried for her daughter’s safety. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, I was concerned about this young woman’s wellbeing in the short-term and long-term. The young woman has developed sleep issues.
Before I explain that, let me elucidate what another 24-year-old client recently shared with me. She said that like most people from her generation, she goes into work because remote working feels lonely and stuffy (especially if you are working from a tiny apartment).
Hence, many twenty-somethings head to the gym at the end of the workday or late evening. Then around 9-9:30pm, they step out to grab dinner or drinks with their friends. They don’t get to bed until 1:30-2am and wake up by 7:30-8am, just in time to freshen up and head to work.
Going back to my older client who was upset with her daughter’s workout, my client’s daughter is going against the circadian rhythm (which is the same as the Ayurvedic clock). This means she is eating at the wrong times, not getting enough sleep, depleting her dhatus, and working out to the point of exhaustion at the incorrect time of the day.
Impact Of Haphazard Schedules
Thanks to the pressures of modern living, more and more of us are becoming out of sync with our Ayurvedic clock, which has consequences for our mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. I have worked with clients who eat a heavy biryani and kebab dinner at 9:30pm and then wonder why they battle lifestyle-induced diseases. There are people who drink wine or whiskey on an empty stomach at midnight, get heartburn, and then pop a pill. What do you think is happening with their health?
Why the Ayurvedic Clock Matters
According to the Ayurvedic clock, there is an ideal time for every activity we do during the day. Honoring the Ayurvedic clock helps balance hormones, mitigate stress, and enhance your health. The Ayurvedic clock is intuitive and even western science is recognizing its power.
Ayurveda teaches that we are a miniature version of nature. So, if we align our schedule—when we sleep, eat, move, rest, socialize, and winddown—according to the Ayurvedic clock, we honor Mother Nature as well as the Ayurvedic doshas. This can promote our wellbeing.
For example, have you noticed how by sundown, flocks of pigeons or murders of crows start to fly back to their nests? They know it’s time to return home and rest for the night. But human beings get their second wind and go out to dinner or exercise or socialize at a time when nature expects us to slow down and turn inward. The end result? We go to war with ourselves and the rhythm of nature.
How Does the Ayurvedic Clock Work?
Basically, the Ayurvedic clock tells time in four-hour dosha blocks. Two periods for vata dosha, two time slots for pitta dosha, and two periods for kapha dosha. We experience each dosha twice during a 24-hour cycle. Each dosha becomes active at certain hours/times of the day.
Vata time: 2am-6am and 2pm – 6pm
Kapha time: 6am -10am and 6pm – 10pm
Pitta time: 10am – 2pm and 10pm – 2am
Vata Time
Vata dosha is made up of air and ether elements. Vata time in the morning, from 2am-6am, is the best for receptivity. It’s a sacred time to meditate, chant, pray, or do spiritual practices. When there is less chaos and commotion around you and everything is tranquil and ethereal, you can connect to stillness and quietude more readily.
Ayurveda also explains that the cold nature of vata dosha causes body temperature to drop in the mid-afternoon (2pm-6pm). This makes us tired and dreamy. It’s the perfect time to immerse yourself in creative pursuits. Also, make yourself some herbal tea and ground yourself.
Pitta Time
The hours between 10am-2pm are when we feel the most focused, sharp, and productive. Schedule your intense meetings for this slot as the energy of pitta dosha, made up of fire and water elements, is the strongest and best for dealing with the toughest tasks.
Additionally, our agnior our digestive fire is the fiercest at mid-day, much like rays of the sun, which is why lunch should be the biggest meal of the day. The pitta time of night is from 10 pm to 2 am, and it is important to sleep during this time because it’s the time of internal cleansing. If you munch on snacks, eat dinner, drink alcohol or continue to work instead, you miss out on the much-needed internal cleanse that removes toxins or ama.
Kapha Time
Have you noticed when you work out in the mornings, you feel extremely energetic throughout the day? But you may feel lethargic and sluggish if you sleep in late? Kapha dosha is made up of earth and water elements, which are “heavy” by nature. So if you wake up between 6am-10am, which is kapha time of the morning, these dull and heavy qualities increase within you.
Also, if you exercise before 10am, you decrease the dull and heavy qualities within you. Kapha time in the mornings is the best time to gather energy for the day. Kapha time in the evening, which is 6pm-10pm, is when we need to slow down, turn inward, and get ready for bed. When you exercise (like my client’s daughter) during this time, you are basically energizing your mind and body instead of slowing down. No wonder she has sleep issues.
“Ayurveda is the science of life that teaches us how to live in harmony with nature and the world around us.” ~ Dr Robert Svoboda
Disclaimer: The content is purely informative and educational in nature and should not be construed as medical advice. The information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease. Please use the content only in consultation with an appropriate certified medical or healthcare professional. If you are looking for advice from a trained yogi and ayurvedic practitioner, contact the author here.
