4 Hacks To Balance Circadian Rhythm, From An OB/GYN Who Works Nights

As much as we preach the importance of a healthy, balanced sleep schedule, we also totally understand that sometimes life just happens. And in the case of board-certified OB/GYN Jaime Seeman, M.D., author of Hard To Kill, well, life really does happen: "Last week I had a really bad [sleep] week," she shares on the mindbodygreen podcast. "I had [to deliver] four babies four nights in a row that were all born between 11 p.m., 1 a.m., and 3 a.m." It's not like Seeman can put it off until the morning—duty calls. 

"I'll do some extra deep breathing exercises," Seeman says. "I'm such a huge fan of it, and I teach patients this in my own clinic all the time," she adds. "You can do it absolutely anywhere. You can do it in your car, you can go in a bathroom stall… incorporating that into your daily rituals can make you just more resilient." 

Deep breathing exercises are A+ for promoting sleep and a sense of calm, but other practices can actually supercharge your energy levels: Take box breathing, for example, which heightens efficiency and performance and provides stress relief.

"Your most important sleep is from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.," says Seeman. "So when I get woken up for a 1 a.m. delivery, I know it's going to be like an uphill battle. So I'll try to wear blue blockers if I can." 

We know that blue light can affect your circadian rhythm and negatively impact your sleep patterns, but the harsh light is simply unavoidable for Seeman in a hospital setting. 

With interrupted sleep patterns, "your cortisol's going crazy," says Seeman, and high levels of cortisol can further mess with your sleep. It can become a vicious cycle, which is why Seeman searches for healthy, effective ways to support focus and maintain all-day energy. 

"I'll use things like nootropics or exogenous ketones, things to help me muddle through the day to give me some brain energy," she notes. Now, "nootropic" is a category used to describe compounds that support a variety of brain functions, like mental clarity, memory recall, and cognitive task performance. 

Look, sometimes (oftentimes, for Seeman) poor sleep just happens. Try not to stress about it too much—just try to hit the hay a bit earlier the next night. "That night, I try to go to bed an hour or two earlier to try to make up for that sleep," she notes.