How Listening to the Body’s Clock Can Help Students Learn Faster & Be More Productive

Did you know that the way we use our time influences what we can achieve?

Your body’s internal rhythm affects everything from mental activity to the immune system, and even your mood. Synchronizing your body’s clock with your daily schedule might be one of the keys to boosting your productivity. If you learn to track periods of peak activity in your day, you’ll improve your performance, academic and otherwise.

As a student, you may find it promising that understanding your biological clock will help you study better. In fact, everyone who wants to get in touch with their circadian rhythm will find our tips helpful!

Keep reading this article by Custom-Writing.com to find out how to be in tune with your internal clock and take your productivity to its peak.

⏰ What Is the Biological Clock?

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”

This quote comes from the motivational speaker Michael Altshuler. It surely inspires enthusiasm! However, this enthusiasm usually dwindles, and you’re left with the question: “How exactly do I become the pilot?”

The answer is—master your biological clock!

You’ve certainly heard about it but might have never thought much about the biological clock definition. In the early days of circadian science, even scientists asked themselves, “Is the biological clock a real thing?”

But now we know for sure that humans have it, dogs have it, blue whales have it, and even flowers in the park have it, too. Every living, growing thing on the planet has a biological clock. It’s no surprise that research into circadian rhythms has already won two Nobel Prizes.

The biological clock is the internal timer that tells your body when it is best to perform its daily processes and functions. For instance, it controls your sleepiness and hunger and is in charge of many other smaller “clocks” inside your body. It manages your temperature, hormones, blood pressure, and countless other things.

Here’s an example of how this internal clock works: natural fluctuations of energy over 24 hours. Do you recognize your typical day?

1. Morning ramp-up.
   This phase starts once the sleepy daze, known as sleep inertia, wears off. You gradually begin to feel more awake while a special cocktail of hormones helps your body get rid of adenosine—a compound that makes you drowsy.
2. Morning peak.
   This phase comes when you’re fully awake, and it’s the period of peak performance.
3. Afternoon dip.
   As you may expect from the name, this period will make you sleepy.
4. Evening ramp-up and peak.
   By now, the afternoon grogginess is gone. This is the last time your energy peaks during the day, and you get your second wind.
5. Evening wind-down.
   Darkness has fallen, and so have your energy levels. Adenosine is in the driver’s seat now, and you are its willing passenger. All you want to do is relax and fall asleep as soon as possible.

As you can see, your entire day is divided into cycles that the biological clock controls. This, of course, is just one example since there are many more clocks and cycles that your body goes through daily.

How Circadian Rhythm Relates to Your Biological Clock

Your biological clock is the mastermind behind the other clocks throughout your body, called circadian rhythms. These are 24-hour cycles running different processes in your body. Arguably the most important one is the sleep-wake cycle.

Students are notorious for their frequent disruptions of circadian rhythms. Of course, being young adds its own peculiarities to the sleep-wake cycle of most students. For example, they may find it harder to go to bed early and thus wake up on time. Likewise, homework and social life deprive students of sleep, leading to decreased academic performance.

Did you recognize yourself in this description? If so, we recommend you pay more attention to your circadian rhythms and listen to your body to prevent unpleasant consequences.

How exactly do you do that? Keep reading to find out!

How Does Your Body Clock Affect Your Health?

Whenever you upset the circadian rhythm controlling the sleep-wake cycle, you will eventually feel the effects of this disruption. At first, you may experience minor repercussions of not listening to your body clock, such as being more tired and less productive than usual and having lower energy levels.

However, there are also more severe side effects of not sleeping enough, including diabetes and obesity. Did you know that people who work nightshifts tend to gain weight faster than those who work regular hours? To convince you to prioritize your health, let us also mention that severe and constant circadian rhythm disruptions may lead to heart problems and even an increased risk of cancer.

Your mental health won’t thank you, either. Mood swings and depression often accompany irregular sleep patterns.

But don’t get too scared! If you align your circadian rhythm with external cues, such as light and dark, you will reap tremendous benefits:

⚽ The Best Time for Activities

You may be thinking that circadian rhythms stick to a strict timetable and are the same for everyone, but they are also based on how specifically your body and brain work.

Depending on your internal clock, you may notice that doing certain things at different times of day yields a different result. You may be super productive from 7 am to 10 am but useless from 7 pm to 10 pm.

You can use this understanding to your advantage. In fact, we all should! Let’s have a look at a few things we can learn to do better:

Best Time for Sleeping

As you already know, our sleep-wake cycle is essential to our health. Here’s what you should pay attention to:

Best Time for Eating

Our digestion is closely related to the work of our biological clock, and when it gets out of whack, the consequences can be pretty unpleasant. If you want to set your eating habits according to your circadian rhythm, keep in mind the following:

Best Time for Exercise

Exercise is yet another thing that you could unknowingly be doing at the wrong time of day. Here are the major facts you should know:

🎓 Biological Clocks and Academic Performance

There is a clear correlation between your academic performance and circadian rhythms. If you can’t fall asleep earlier than 1 am but have to wake up at 6 for your morning classes, you’re bound to doze off instead of listening. Even if you manage to keep your eyes open, you’ll still have trouble focusing.

This is called social jet lag—the problem of your external obligations not coinciding with your biological clock, and especially with your chronotype.

What are the chronotypes? Well, these are categories of people divided according to the time when they’re sleepy or energetic.

The most popular chronotypes are:

🐦 Early birds who are at their best in the morning,

🦉 Night owls who are most active later in the day.

Where you are in this categorization defines your sleep-wake cycle. Social jet lag messes up these patterns, forcing you to be active when you’d rather be asleep.

It’s been proven that social jet lag adversely affects grades and performance. Research shows that the GPA of students who study at unfavorable hours is lower than that of students whose biological clock is attuned with the time of their classes.

But what can you do about it? Unless your college decides to tweak the timetable so that it suits your personal needs, you have to take the initiative and try to align your circadian rhythms with your schedule.

The simplest thing you can do is go to bed and wake up at the same time daily, including weekends. You may oppose this idea at first, but trust us—you will benefit from it.

When Is the Best Time to Study?

Yes, there is a certain time of the day when it’s best for you to study. All you need to do is to pinpoint this period.

All humans are unique, and what suits your friend may not work for you, but you can still follow these general guidelines:

Finding Your Best Time to Study

What you’ve just finished reading are the ground rules for when it’s best to study. But what schedule should you stick to? After all, your circadian rhythm is unique and likely differs from the general guidelines above.

Here are the questions you can answer to find what works best for you:

❓ When do you feel most awake?

Alertness and the ability to focus are crucial to tackling college tasks successfully. Try constructing your schedule around this period.

❓ Are you exposed to distractions during the time when you’re most alert?

If the answer is positive, we recommend you find a quiet place to study where nothing disturbs you.

❓ Are you good at specific things at different times of the day?

For example, you could be more inclined to analyze rather than memorize at dawn. You could be more creative in the evening. Or, you may be on top of your game in the afternoon when all others are battling the urge to take a nap.

❓ Is there a time you can set aside for studying regularly?

If it’s just once a week, find another time. Consistency is paramount, so make a habit of studying at a specific time. This way, you can cooperate with your biological clock instead of struggling against it, as we often do.

🌱 Get in Touch with Your Circadian Rhythm

Living in tune with your internal rhythms may be trickier than you’d like it to be. But it is possible to pinpoint them and build your routine around them. This will benefit your productivity along with your overall well-being. So, let’s discuss that!

Understanding Your Circadian Rhythm

Figuring out your circadian rhythms is essential if you want to understand when it’s best to be active and when you should stop and wind down.

To determine these patterns, you can try to experiment. Here’s how:

What Factors Can Change Circadian Rhythms?

Circadian rhythms are something that we’re born with. But it doesn’t mean that nothing can change them! You can try to be more in tune with your preferred schedule, but some things may throw your clock off kilter without your permission. These are:

🚩 Stress—one of the main culprits of our health problems.

🚩 Work hours after dark.

🚩 Irregular work and study hours.

🚩 Certain medications.

🚩 Mental health problems, such as anxiety.

🚩 Some health conditions, including blindness (no light or dark cues,) brain damage, dementia, etc.

🚩 Not sticking to a healthy sleep schedule for various reasons, be it late-night parties or simply not being organized enough.

In a category of its own is jet lag—the tiredness you experience after flying across a few time zones. Jet lag is temporary, and there are healthy and quick ways to recover from it.

For most people, jet lag doesn’t happen often enough to be a concern. However, if you have to travel frequently, you may want to develop a routine that will help you overcome jet lag in the most healthy and efficient way.

Do You Need a Body Clock Reset?

Sometimes your internal clock may be so out of sync that waiting for the problem to fix itself becomes pointless. You need to take things under your control and reset the clock.

How can you determine whether you need to reset your body’s clock? Look at the list of problems below and tick the ones you’re experiencing regularly:

If you’ve ticked most of the problems above, keep reading to find out how to fix that!

Tips to Reset Your Circadian Rhythm

You may feel that your circadian rhythms are off and need to be restored to normal, or you just don’t like that it’s misaligned with your preferred schedule.

We have amazing news for you—you can reset your circadian rhythm! Here’s how you do it:

• Set up a bedtime routine. To train your brain to follow a timetable, you must stick to it relentlessly.
• Do sports. Exercise is good for many things, including sleep regulation. It aids in melatonin production which helps you dose off faster. Just remember to find convenient time for your workouts!
• Shift your bedtime gradually. There’s no point trying to change it overnight: it won’t work. Instead, move the time you go to bed and get up 30 minutes each week.

🔝 How to Maintain a Healthy Circadian Rhythm: 10 Tips

Even if your biological clock is perfectly fine, we still have some awesome tips for you. Let’s take a good look at 10 ways you can keep your circadian rhythms healthful and boost your overall quality of life:

1. Avoid Eating and Drinking Coffee before Sleep

Both food and caffeine rev up your digestion, and your body has a hard time winding down. Not to mention that it takes caffeine—a natural stimulant—many hours to leave your system. Even if it doesn’t stop you from falling asleep, it doesn’t mean that caffeine won’t lower the quality of your rest.

2. Stick to a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Being consistent is good for many things, and sleep is no exception. Your internal clock can only be maintained in sync if you prioritize your sleep over less essential things.

3. Get Outside in the Morning

You probably love the sun. You’ll love it even more when we tell you that it helps you wake up and stay alert. Ideally, you should wake up, get outside, and spend at least 10 minutes in the sunlight.

Of course, we don’t recommend staring straight at the sun, but we do recommend you avoid wearing sunglasses.

If you don’t have the privilege of a clear day, turn on the lights everywhere and flood your home with light.

4. Reduce Exposure to Artificial Light at Night

While you’d want to be exposed to as much light as possible in the morning, bright lights at night should be avoided at all costs.

Dim the lights, close the blinds, and get ready for sleep. Choose warm lightbulbs for your home, especially your bedroom.

5. Avoid Afternoon Naps

Long naps are the thief of a good night’s sleep. If you feel like you’re losing the battle with your heavy eyelids at noon, get up and move! If you work from home, try to be physically active as frequently as possible. It will re-energize you and help your body accumulate enough adenosine to fall asleep quickly.

6. Limit Nightly Screen Use

The urge to lie in bed and check your Instagram feed is understandable. If you absolutely have to do it, remember to switch your screen to night mode without blue light. Blue light makes your body produce cortisol—the stress hormone, instead of melatonin—the sleep hormone.

7. Drink More Water

Dehydration is bad for absolutely everything from productivity to the quality of your sleep. Start your day with a big glass of water and drink regularly throughout the day. Coffee and sugary drinks don’t count.

If you often forget to drink water, try using an app that will remind you to do it: we recommend Daily Water Tracker Reminder or Aqualert.

8. Eat at Set Times

This is another example of how scheduled routines can benefit your health. Remember we told you there are smaller clocks responsible for different functions and processes around your body? One of them is a food-based clock. You can reset it by staying away from food for 16 hours (from 4 pm to 8 am, for example) for a day.

Also, make sure to avoid heavy meals at dinner-time, and try not to eat too close to bedtime.

9. Learn to Manage Stress

Stress hormones inhibit the production of melatonin and, sadly, make your internal clock malfunction. We live in a stress-filled world, but you can offset its adverse effects by enjoying walks in the park, meditating, spending time with your loved ones, and occasionally skipping the news.

10. Try Melatonin Supplements

If you want some external help for your sleep problem, or there’s an upcoming trip that will leave you jet-lagged, you can take melatonin in small doses. It’s important that you get permission from your doctor since melatonin can interact with some medications negatively.

🎁 BONUS: Top 6 Apps to Keep Healthy Circadian Rhythms

If you like to go to bed with a smartphone in your hand, we have good news: there’s a way your phone can help you to fall asleep!

What we mean is using some awesome sleep apps. We’ve tested them and want to share with you what we’ve learned. Here’s the rundown of our favorite apps that really work and will facilitate falling asleep:

Now you’re armed with all the necessary information to get in touch with your circadian rhythm! We hope our tips will help you along the way.

What is your favorite way to be in tune with your internal clock? Tell us in the comment section below!

🔍 References

1. Your Body’s Internal Clock and How It Affects Your Overall Health: The Atlantic
2. Circadian Rhythm: Sleep Foundation
3. Everything You Need to Know About Circadian Rhythms and How They Affect Sleep: Everyday Health
4. Can Harnessing Your Circadian Rhythms Improve Chronic Disease?: Health Central
5. What to Know about Circadian Rhythm: Medical News Today
6. Circadian Rhythm 101: How to Support Your Body’s Internal Clock Every Day: Mind Body Green
7. Get in Touch With Your Circadian Rhythm: WebMD
8. Circadian Rhythms of Work: When Are We Actually Productive?: Managers.org
9. Circadian Rhythm Hacks to Boost Your Productivity: Calendar
10. Syncing Class Times to Circadian Rhythms Could Improve School Performance: Chronobiology
11. Poor Grades Linked To Class Schedules That Do Not Match Students’ Biological Clocks: Tech Times
12. Can’t Focus? Maybe It’s Your Body Clock: The Guardian