Get In Touch With Your Bodyrhythms

By Mark Fulton

It’s been about a month since we switched to daylight savings time, but my body is still holding a grudge about losing that hour of sleep. When the alarm goes off at 6 a.m., my mind says, “OK, up and at ’em.” Meanwhile my body is saying, “Listen, buster, you and I both know it’s really only 5 o’clock. Unless you want to wake up with a brain that has the cognitive skills of a bowl of oatmeal, you’re going to hit that snooze button at least three times!”

I’ve learned that my body means business, especially when it comes to sleep requirements, so I’ve been conceding on the snooze-button issue. But that’s only one of my concessions to corporeal realities. For example, I know that I’m particularly alert and focused from 9 a.m. until noon. Consequently, I try to do writing and other intellectual chores then.

And in recent years I have found myself succumbing to the siren song of my sofa for an afternoon nap. It’s become clear that achieving peak productivity for the rest of my work life will depend on getting in sync with my body’s physiological agenda.

Are you a morning person or an evening person? Why is it that you are more likely to daydream at certain times of the day? How does going to bed later than usual affect your ability to get a good night’s sleep? The answers to these questions are tied to a scientific discipline called chronobiology, or the study of daily rhythms.

Understanding your body’s response to its master clock can help you plan your day better, boost your productivity and give a good argument for taking a 20-minute snooze before attending an important afternoon meeting.

In her book Bodyrhythms: Biological Clocks and Peak Performance, author Lynne Lamberg explains that the human body follows an internal rhythm that causes hundreds of bodily functions to wax and wane in harmony with the 24-hour cycles of our planet. These rhythms should not be confused with biorhythms, which some people believe identify critical days on the basis of one’s birth date.

Bodyrhythms are governed by your hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body temperature, certain metabolic processes and other autonomic activities. The signals sent out by your hypothalamus affect your alertness, reflexes, creativity, concentration and a host of other performance factors throughout the course of the day.

According to Lamberg, research has shown that the decline in cognitive ability that occurs from your high point to your low point is roughly equivalent to the effect of three or four alcoholic drinks — or the loss of half a night of sleep.

So how do you harmonize with your hypothalamus? By scheduling your daily activities to take advantage of your body’s built-in schedule. Here are some pointers for maximizing your productivity:

• 7 to 8 a.m. — Expose yourself to some bright light — preferably sunlight — as soon as possible after you wake up. You’ll become alert faster if your body gets a clear message that the day has started.
• 9 a.m. to noon — Your powers of reasoning and concentration are at their peak. During these hours, make important decisions, schedule critical meetings, tackle intellectually challenging tasks and give directions to your employees. (They’re more likely to remember them.)
• Noon to 2 p.m. — People are generally most cheerful at this point in the day. Not a bad time for a business lunch. Also, the food you eat at this time is metabolized more efficiently than food eaten later in the day. Make lunch your main meal if you’re trying to watch your weight.
• 2 to 3 p.m. — The infamous mid-afternoon meltdown can happen even if you don’t have a big lunch. Daydreaming peaks, analytical skills take a nosedive and eyelids get heavy around 12 hours after the midpoint of your previous night’s sleep, which is 2 p.m. if you slept from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. This is an ideal time for a power nap — a 20- to 30-minute siesta that can give you a refreshing energy boost for the rest of your workday.
• 3 to 5 p.m. — The early-afternoon blahs begin to lift. Your long-term memory is at its peak and your ability to detect errors is sharp. This is a good time to hold training classes, review contracts, proofread letters and plan your schedule for tomorrow.
• 5 to 7 p.m. — Your coordination, muscle strength and reflexes are peaking, making this time perfect for workouts. Your senses of taste and smell are especially acute, which is why dinner often seems like the best meal of the day.
• 8 to 10 p.m. — Alertness is still high enough for reading, paying bills and other activities requiring moderate concentration. However, your body is starting to power down for sleep. Work-related stress can interfere with this process. If you’re still wired from work at bedtime, try stretching exercises, deep breathing and writing down your concerns and putting them aside until tomorrow.

Of course, not everyone is on the same timetable. Based on your own experiences with your body clock, you know if you are a lark or an owl. You can achieve maximum productivity by recognizing the rhythms you live by — and planning accordingly.

Copyright 1999 © Mark S. Fulton