Circadian rhythm disorders affect the timing of sleep when the body's internal clock is misaligned with the environment or lifestyle, causing trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking at the desired times. With the right strategies, your natural rhythm can be realigned.
Your circadian rhythm is the internal 24-hour clock that signals when you should feel sleepy and when you should feel alert. When this clock falls out of sync with the demands of your environment or lifestyle, you may struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, or wake when you need to — even though the sleep itself is otherwise normal. The result is often persistent fatigue, reduced performance, and difficulty meeting work, school, or social schedules.
These disorders take several forms, from being a natural "night owl" whose sleep is shifted later, to the disrupted patterns caused by shift work or crossing time zones. Our specialists evaluate your sleep timing and habits to identify which pattern is affecting you, then use proven tools — light exposure, timing strategies, and melatonin — to help you reset your clock and reclaim restful, well-timed sleep.
The sleep period is shifted significantly later than normal, so you fall asleep and wake much later than desired. Common in "night owls," it makes early commitments especially difficult.
The opposite pattern, in which you feel sleepy in the early evening and wake very early in the morning. More common with age, it can shorten your evenings and disrupt social life.
Working nights or rotating shifts forces sleep at times that conflict with your internal clock, leading to insomnia when trying to sleep and sleepiness while on the job.
Rapid travel across time zones leaves your internal clock out of step with local time, causing temporary sleep disruption, fatigue, and daytime impairment until it adjusts.
Contributing factors include a genetic predisposition toward being a night owl or early bird, irregular schedules and travel, lack of natural light or too much evening light, and certain medical conditions such as blindness.
We map your sleep-wake patterns using sleep diaries and actigraphy — a wearable that tracks rest and activity over time — and, when needed, polysomnography to rule out other sleep disorders.
Carefully timed bright-light exposure helps shift your internal clock in the right direction, while chronotherapy gradually adjusts your sleep schedule until it aligns with your goals.
Properly timed melatonin can help reset your rhythm, and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) addresses the habits and thoughts that reinforce poor sleep timing.
Maintaining regular sleep and wake times — even on weekends — anchors your circadian rhythm and helps keep your sleep well-timed and restorative for the long term.
When your internal clock is out of sync, the right plan can bring it back into rhythm. Our specialists will identify the pattern affecting you and guide you toward well-timed, restful sleep.