Seasons, sleep cycles & a summer retreat
How seasons impact your sleep.
Are you waking up a tad sooner than usual and wondering why? Have you been forcing yourself to stay in bed until your alarm gives you the permission to rise?
Don’t! Here is why…
On a good day, I am in bed at 11 pm and my alarm is set for 7 am. For the last couple of weeks, I notice that I am up a little before 6.30am—feeling rested and no drastic dips in energy through the day. No no no, this has nothing to do with daylight filtering into my bedroom. I sleep with blackout curtains.
If you too are noticing this shift in your sleep duration, it merely means that your sleep is in sync with the seasons—with the approaching summer.
Nature works in cycles and so do we humans. Over hundreds of millions of years, species whose internal functions could anticipate sunrise or sunset gained survival advantages: they could scout for food, avoid predators, or conserve energy in sync with their environment. That is how we humans too evolved to survive.
Our biological clock aka our Circadian Rythm which tells the body when to rest, digest, cleanse… is primed to sync with the cycle of day and night. Shorter nights in summer=shorter biological nights (what our body considers prime time for sleep).
If you have no trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and are only waking up a little earlier than what you consider usual (from autumn to early spring), I encourage you to use that time! Struggling to stay asleep will only build morning grogginess. I am using those extra 30 minutes to get back to my morning Yoga practise and on some days to sneak in an early coffee date with my partner.
If shorter nights are giving you a mid morning or a mid afternoon dip in energy, hit reply to this mail and I will share with you a quick pick me up practice.
Your sleep—the quality and quantity can be your most trusted ally in boosting your energy levels, focus, mood, libido, metabolism, fertility, immunity… the list goes on! That is exactly what I am teaching this summer and a few spots are open.
July 4th-July 9th. 5 days to learn and experience:
Circadian Rhythms: syncing with your biological clock.
Cortisol & Serotonin: regulating your body chemicals that influence sleep.
Microbiota & brain: tending to the gut-brain axis through diet and lifestyle.
Somatic stress release: mastering body based techniques to release stress, anxiety and trauma.
This retreat is hosted in a wellness centre that used to be a convent, in Normandy—only 2 hours from Paris by train.
Wondering if this is for you and you’d like to know more? Hit reply, we’ll get on a call and figure out if this aligns with what you need.
Not for you but you know someone who needs exactly this? You know what to do….
With Love,
Gayatri
I am a Sleep & Holistic Health Coach. I help you reclaim restful sleep and vitality.
Read more about me, my journey and my approach.