The Hidden Link Between Circadian Rhythm and Early Perimenopause Symptoms

Let’s be honest — no one prepares you for the season when your body starts to feel different. You wake up tired but can’t sleep through the night. Your moods swing from calm to irritable in a heartbeat. Your metabolism feels sluggish, your brain a little foggy, your cycles a bit unpredictable.

Everyone calls it “perimenopause. ”But what if it’s not just your hormones changing…What if it’s your timing that’s off?

How Circadian Rhythm Disruption Fuels Perimenopause Symptoms

Your body runs on a master 24-hour clock — your circadian rhythm. It tells your brain when to release hormones like cortisol, melatonin, insulin, thyroid, and estrogen. And that entire system is set by one simple cue: light.

When your light environment and daily rhythm fall out of sync with nature’s timing your internal clock can’t properly regulate those hormones. And that “miscommunication” looks a lot like early perimenopause.

• Night sweats or insomnia? Often linked to melatonin and cortisol imbalance. In one study of women ages 40-62 with hot flashes/night sweats, researchers measured salivary cortisol four times daily over two days. They found that women with higher hot flash frequency had lower cortisol levels 30 minutes after waking, and higher cortisol levels in the early afternoon.

• Mood swings and anxiety? Your neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) are clock-controlled too.

• Weight changes or sugar cravings? Leptin and insulin — both circadian hormones.

• Irregular cycles? Even your ovaries have their own internal clocks. Research shows that the ovaries and other reproductive tissues express circadian “clock genes” (such as BMAL1, CLOCK, PER) and have their own rhythmic activity.

Realigning with Your Natural Timing

The good news is that this isn’t permanent — your rhythm can be reset.And it doesn’t require hormones or supplements. It starts with light, timing, and awareness.

When you wake with the sun, limit bright light at night, eat with consistency, and allow your body to rest when it’s dark — your hormones begin to find their natural flow again. Your sleep deepens. Your mood evens out. Your metabolism reawakens.

Before you skip straight to hormone replacement therapy allow your body to get back into sync with its natural rhythm. This is the work I teach inside my Circadian Rhythm Reset Masterclass — a 90-minute deep dive into how to restore your body’s timing, support your hormones, and feel like yourself again.

If your body feels offbeat — anxious, tired, inflamed, or “hormonally stuck” — join me for this beautiful reset. It’s time to come back into rhythm with your own biology.