So, I’m doing a lot of research for my book about the three pillars of health and fitness – sleep (and rest), diet and exercise – and their connectedness and I come across the term Ultradian Rhythm. Now, I’ve heard all about Circadian Rhythm before but this term was new to me. Yet, it turns out I’ve known about the concept but not the terminology for quite some time. I think you might have inherently known about this too.

This description of ultradian rhythm sums it up pretty well: “Ultradian rhythms are biological rhythms with durations shorter than circadian rhythms (i.e., shorter than approximately 19 hours). They include cardiac, respiratory, neuroendocrine, gastrointestinal, tidal, and other rhythms.” (source)

No doubt most of you have probably experienced the frustration where your body tells you to go to bed but you decide that you’ll watch more TV and then when you retire to bed a bit later you can’t get to sleep for love nor money. Guess what? That’s an ultradian rhythm at work. Your body is cycling every 60-90 minutes and if you miss or ignore that “go to bed, fool” signal then you have to wait for the next one to come along.

The thing is that ultradian rhythms aren’t related only to sleep patterns but many other patterns that occur during the day too. I guess the description above indicates that, eh?

If you aren’t getting a regular break from work then this could be why you are burning out with excessive stress levels. Some research suggests that we need a break every 60-90 minutes our output becomes sub-par and our stress level rise. Not good for you or your boss.

So, what does this mean? Well, it could give you a damn simple way to relieve your stress levels, get a better night’s sleep, perform better at work and did I mention sex? Yeah that’s right if your understand these rhythms a little more you just might become a superstar in the sack too.