Nighttime Syndrome: How to Adjust Your Circadian Rhythms When You Wake Up and Fall Asleep in the Dark
The beginning of winter is a time when the sun becomes a rare guest in our lives. In the morning, the alarm clock rings in pitch darkness, and in the evening, darkness covers the city as early as four o'clock in the afternoon. The body falls into a state of permanent drowsiness, and the desire to crawl under the covers and wake up only in March becomes increasingly obsessive. Sound familiar?
It's not laziness or depression—it's a disruption of circadian rhythms, the internal biological clock that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. Our brain perceives darkness as a signal to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone. When daylight hours are reduced to seven, the body genuinely doesn't understand the point of getting out of bed.
The main enemy of winter sleepiness is insufficient light. A typical light bulb in a room provides about 300-500 lux, while normal circadian rhythms require at least 2,500 lux. On a clear day, the sun provides 10,000 lux, but where can you get that in December?
A light alarm clock isn't a marketing gimmick, but a truly effective tool. Thirty to forty minutes before the set time, it gradually increases brightness, simulating dawn. This signals the start of the day, reduces melatonin production, and triggers the production of cortisol, the wake-up hormone. Waking up in the dark becomes significantly easier when the room is already bathed in soft light.
If a light alarm seems excessive, a regular bright fluorescent lamp will do. The key is to turn it on immediately after waking and leave it in the room for at least 30 minutes. This is enough time to let your body know that the night is over and it's time to get active.
The first half hour after waking up determines the energy of the entire day. How can you wake up in the dark without turning into a zombie? A simple formula works: light plus movement plus cold.
A contrast shower gets your blood flowing and truly wakes up your nervous system. If that's too extreme, splashing your face with ice water will achieve a similar effect. Cold stimulates the production of norepinephrine, which is responsible for concentration and alertness.
Any physical activity in the first hour after waking up acts as a natural energizer. You don't need a full-blown workout—ten squats or a few yoga poses will do. Muscle work raises your body temperature and speeds up your metabolism, which automatically brings you out of that sleepy sluggish state.
When the body is in energy-saving mode, it craves fast carbohydrates—rolls, cookies, chocolate. The problem is that such foods provide a short-term burst of energy followed by a sharp decline. An hour after a sugary breakfast, you'll feel even more sleepy.
Protein is the foundation of stable energy. Eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and fish provide a long-lasting feeling of fullness and stable blood glucose levels. Tryptophan from protein foods is converted into serotonin, which is responsible for a positive mood and combats the winter blues.
Fatty fish, nuts, and flaxseeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, which improve brain function and help combat seasonal fatigue. Avocados, bananas, and spinach are rich in magnesium, a mineral that regulates melatonin production and helps maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Vitamin D is critically important in winter. Without sun, the body can't produce it on its own, and vitamin D deficiency is directly linked to fatigue and low mood. Fatty fish, egg yolks, and fortified milk partially address this issue, but from November to March, it's a good idea to take vitamin D supplements.
The paradox of winter darkness is that we often don't sleep in the evening, even though our bodies are tired. Artificial lighting, screens, and working late into the evening—all of this disrupts our circadian rhythms just as much as the dark morning.
Two hours before bed, dim the lights in your apartment. Replace bright ceiling lights with floor lamps and table lamps with warm light. The blue light from phone and computer screens suppresses melatonin production, so either turn on night mode on all devices or wear glasses with orange lenses that block blue light.
The bedroom temperature should be cool—18-20 degrees Celsius. When the body cools down, it serves as an additional cue for sleep. A warm bath an hour before bedtime works on the same principle: afterward, body temperature drops rapidly, speeding the onset of sleep.
Caffeine's half-life in the body is five to six hours. This means that a cup of coffee at 4 PM will still affect your sleep quality at 10 PM. In winter, when circadian rhythms are already disrupted, it makes sense to set a strict caffeine deadline—no later than 2 PM.
Alcohol creates the illusion of falling asleep quickly, but disrupts deep sleep. The body spends the night in a shallow, unrestful sleep. You wake up feeling groggy, even if you technically slept eight hours.
Even 15 minutes outside during daylight hours significantly improves circadian rhythms. Natural daylight, even through clouds, is many times more effective than any indoor lamp. If work doesn't allow you to go outside during the day, it's worth using your lunch break for at least a short walk around the building.
Cold air is as invigorating as coffee. When oxygen reaches the lungs, the brain receives additional nourishment, concentration improves, and lethargy disappears. Winter walks aren't a feat, but rather basic nervous system hygiene.
Circadian rhythms thrive on predictability. When you go to bed and wake up at the same time seven days a week, your body adapts to a strict schedule and begins to function like clockwork. A shift in your schedule, even by an hour or two, throws these adjustments off and forces your brain to re-adapt each time.
Weekends are the main enemy of a stable routine. The temptation to sleep in until noon on Saturday is understandable, but such a shift in schedule is tantamount to mini-jet lag. Monday mornings become torture again, because the body doesn't understand why it needs to wake up three hours earlier than yesterday.
If you still haven't gotten enough sleep during the week, it's better to go to bed earlier in the evening than to sleep until lunchtime on the weekend. This will maintain your internal clock settings and make the following week much easier.
If lethargy, drowsiness, and low mood persist even after following all recommendations, you may be experiencing seasonal affective disorder. This is a real condition that requires the attention of a specialist. Light therapy under the supervision of a doctor, vitamin supplementation, and sometimes medication support can help you get through the dark months without any mental health consequences.
Winter in mid-latitudes is a challenge for circadian rhythms, but it's entirely surmountable. It's enough to give the body what it lacks: light in the morning, movement during the day, darkness in the evening, and a consistent routine. The syndrome of eternal night recedes when you start working with biology, not against it.
How do you combat winter sleepiness? Do you have any tried-and-true methods for waking up in the dark and staying alert all day?