How to Reset Your Circadian Rhythm Without Strict Schedules

When our internal clock drifts, we reach for strict schedules as our solution. Our self-help books tell us to set the alarm, power down devices, and watch the sunrise. But the best way to reset the circadian rhythm isn’t with masculine willpower, it’s with feminine ritual.

Welcome to Standard Time. The sun sets at 4:30 PM, neighborhood walks relocate to the local gym, and we all want to crawl into bed before dinner. Winter blues, mood disorders, and vitamin D deficiency run rampant.

But Standard Time doesn’t have to be our worst enemy. Actually, it could be our ticket to savoring the winter season, building warm community, and storing up energy for the summer months. To unlock this, we have to recognize that circadian rhythm balance leans toward the feminine side of wellness: intuition, ritual, and self-nurturing.

Chapters

• What Is Circadian Rhythm?
• Rituals Are the Keys That Unlock Your Rhythm
• How to Gently Reset Your Circadian Rhythm

What Is Circadian Rhythm?

The circadian rhythm is your body’s built-in clock, quietly directing when you sleep, wake, eat, and unwind. Plants and animals are the best modern examples of circadian rhythm, since most humans live without the guidance of nature. When our circadian rhythm is in sync, morning feels natural, hunger creeps up at meal times, and stress hormones settle in for the night (no late-night social media scrolls).

Yikes, doesn’t feel like you? Keep reading…

Rituals Are the Keys That Unlock Your Rhythm

For thousands of years, humans have built rituals and feasts around the changing seasons. There were always clear boundaries between autumn and winter, marking the start of new rhythms. In modern times, we’ve lost many of those rituals, and I think we need to bring them back. We need rituals to mark the end of a work day, the end of a season, and the beginning of something new. Instead of forcing our circadian rhythm into submission, rituals help us guide it back to balance.

How to Gently Reset Your Circadian Rhythm 

Women especially need circadian rhythm balance. Our hormones run on a 28-day cycle, so we need the daily structure that comes with regular bedtimes and healthy meals. That doesn’t mean we should willpower our way there, though. That’s against our biology, too. Circadian rhythm is built around gentle rhythms and warm intention, two feminine traits. Here’s how to reset yours.

Have a post-work reset routine

Let’s signal to your brain that you’ve reached the end of the workday. Around 15 minutes before you clock out, organize your desk, close your tabs, or shut your laptop and journal tomorrow’s to-do list. Whatever you do, make sure it’s uncomplicated and repeatable. This is a routine you can do on autopilot, most days.

Build evening rituals

What are you doing to create space between your workday and your time of rest? According to a German study, the failure to mentally disconnect from work hinders recovery. People who think about work during their off hours return to their desks feeling unrefreshed and unmotivated.

In a modern world that’s obsessed with productivity, we need an actual strategy to leave work at our desks. Rest has to be done intentionally, a conscious step into community, good food, and creative habits. My recommendation is, of course, ritual.

Your evening rituals can include prayer, meditation, candle lighting, listening to an audiobook, or taking a walk with your neighbors. They don’t have to be complicated or long, just intentional. You need to break the thread that ties you to productivity, so you can flip the switch on stress hormones. This preps your brain and body to settle into an evening rhythm, making circadian habits second nature.

Use warm lights after sundown

Overhead lights have a way of disrupting our circadian rhythms, especially fluorescents. You can spend tons of time and energy switching out your lightbulbs or buying blue-light blockers for your devices, but I recommend you start small. Get a salt lamp or two, and turn them on at sundown. Light a few candles, use a red light device, and turn off unnecessary overhead lights. Give your brain and body permission to settle into the warm space of sundown, and see how you feel after a few days.

Eat your meals at the same time

This isn’t about using a strict schedule to force your circadian rhythm into submission. If you’re not eating when you’re hungry, there’s something deeper going on. When women function in masculine energy, we’re likely to prioritize our work output over our own bodies. But this goes against our biology. Eating at the right time is about self-nurturing, listening to our body’s signals, and recognizing that this is much harder than setting a strict schedule.

Automatically block your phone

I’m not about the whole “throw your phone out the window, after 6:00 PM” energy. It’s just not realistic. We use our phones for everything, including family catch-ups, writing poetry, and listening to music (i.e., restful activities).

Blue light is primarily the reason circadian rhythm gurus recommend shutting your phone in a drawer after sundown. But I think we can target something even more destructive to our circadian rhythm: the stress hormones released during our social media scroll.

Did you know big tech has admitted they’re competing with sleep for our attention? Yep. And they’re using science (dopamine) to do it. I recommend automatically blocking apps that disrupt sleep, community, and creative thought. You can do this by manually deleting apps during your post-work reset, or you can use a device like the Brick.

You Won’t Have to Wonder If Your Circadian Rhythm Is Rebalanced

You know exactly what it’s like to wake up refreshed, right before your alarm. Even if it’s a distant memory, your body remembers what it’s like to live within the rhythm. And trust me, the barrier to entry back into that rhythm is much smaller than you think. Your body is on your team, it wants to go there with you. The key isn’t self-discipline, willpower, or a stricter schedule. All you need is a little intuition, ritual, and the commitment to self-nurture.

---

*This article contains affiliate links, so I may receive a commission if you make a purchase. I only partner with brands and businesses that I love and use personally.