circadian rhythm, sleep patterns + newborns
I loooove when the pieces of things come full circle. You know that feeling? When seemingly unrelated topics, upon perception shift, or after gaining another little insight we didn’t previously have, suddenly click together as so obviously and intricately interrelated? Those “ahhhhhh, oh my gosh that makes so much sense” moments.
This has been circadian rhythm for me.
It’s been really a fun family experiment, so I’d like to share what I’ve found particularly in the context of how this has created a major difference through the newborn stages and first year.
For about two years now, our kiddos and I have been practicing rising with the sun and setting with the sun. It’s not perfect always, perfect isn’t the goal — but simply having the intention. The sun sets, and we dim the house lights. The kids know that when the world is becoming dark, the big lights in the house should too. When needed, we’ll utilize warm colored lamps, candles, and red lights. We give our eyes time away from screens before it’s time to tuck into bed, with the exception of the occasional weekend movie night. We don’t do tv nightly. We don’t sleep with night lights on. And I’ve come to find our kiddos are really skilled at seeing in the dark — they’re not afraid of the lights being off. When we rise, we don’t flip lights on immediately. We let the sunrise wake the day and our eyes adjust accordingly.
What I’ve found is that we not only sleep better, but we have also come to be far more aware of where the moon is in her cycle and also how we are affected by the amount of light she gives. I have so much to say about the impact of living in sync with our circadian rhythm particularly as related to hormones, menstrual cycles, and overall health — but that’ll be for another day.
Simply put, our experience has been that newborns are extremely responsive to rising and setting with the daylight. And is it any wonder, really? There are so many things we live with, that are so “normal” and even “standard” for us, that we don’t bother giving a second thought to, that are not at all within the blueprint of our physiologic design and in truth are influencing our health and wellbeing without us even considering it.
Living in this kind of rhythm, this has meant that when the sun sets, our baby is looking to be nestled into bed. From the time he was born, this is the pattern he’s known. The daylight wakes us, the moonlight sets us. It’s not strict scheduling, or sleep training, it’s quite literally following the physical response of “Lights out? Time to sleep.”
Much like the old bar trick to dim the lights at a certain time with the intent of mellowing the crowd. For newborns that are so fresh and without ego, it’s inbuilt right into their system. Only now with this constant-motion modern living, we’ve come to override it — and of course, newborns get accustomed to that too.
Pause and consider how from the days pre-technology at all of our fingertips, strapped to our wrists, on every wall, in all the vehicles, wires strung through every room and ceiling, there was a time when there was no lighting beyond the amber flicker of a flame. When talking generationally, it’s not even that it was that far down the line that we’d have to dig to hear the stories of candles, oil lamps, and early bed times.
It’s really common too, especially when the baby is brand new and we’re round the clock sitting on our butt feeding baby, feeling like we do nothing but sit, to just go ahead and grab the phone and do the things we do. Scroll. Read. Create. Take photos. Text. Call. Whatever. Without considering the impact of the blue lights or EMFs on our own body, let alone that of our very receptive newborn baby.
So if you’re feeling a little exhausted and need some encouragement, or are feeling like your newborn has “got the days and nights mixed up” — maybe they do, and maybe there’s a small shift that you can make to help them (and you) rest when our bodies are designed to restore and rejuvenate.
That is, in the darkness of night.