Course Content
Sleep Well Coach Training
About Lesson

A zeitgeber is any external or environmental cue that entrains or synchronises an organism’s biological rhythms.

Zeitgeber comes from the German ‘time givers’ and help to regulate the circadian rhythm by acting as time keepers. They cue when to switch genes on and off. 

Examples of zeitgebers are food, exercise, temperature and sunlight. Knowing that we have an external cue gives us a sense of control over how well we sleep as when you are exposed to the zeitgeber it impacts your circadian rhythm (your internal clock) and energy levels. 

Natural sunlight is the strongest zeitgeber and getting daylight into our eyes first thing in the morning can help to set the circadian rhythm via the SCN by stopping melatonin production and starting cortisol production. It is important when we look at sleep to ensure we have light exposure in our morning routine.

Food is another zeitgeber which signals to the digestive clocks that its time to process the food eaten. If we eat late this can impact onto the circadian rhythm of sleep.

Exercise can entrain your bodies production of melatonin and so help us to sleep. If you exercise early in the morning, it can help to bring your circadian rhythm forward to help you feel sleepier earlier in the evening. This is helpful if struggling to sleep at night. 

Temperature sets the circadian rhythm by the internal clock responding to a cooler night and warmer day. The drop in evening temperature corresponds to the production of melatonin. This is why it’s important to ensure the home/bedroom gets cooler at night.

Social zeitgeber theory (1) refers to the timing of our daily routines that act as zeitgebers by cueing our body clocks: getting out of bed, our first social interaction, the start of work or school, going to bed. It is therefore, helpful to keep routines to signal to the body/brain that it’s time to wind down and go to sleep.

Reference:

  1. L.D. Grandin; L.B. Alloy; L.Y. Abramson. The social zeitgeber theory, circadian rhythms, and mood disorders: Review and evaluation Clinical Psychology Review: Volume 26, Issue 6, 2006, Pages 679-694.