Living in Rhythm - Simple Daily Habits for Hormonal Balance

I received a text from my sister this weekend saying:

“Everything you’ve been telling me!!”

…followed by a link to an article about the The 24-Hour Hormone Clock.

Of course, it’s not me. It’s Chinese medicine.

The article is fantastic and I really recommend reading it - especially if you’re a woman over 35. What it explains through modern research is something Chinese medicine mapped thousands of years ago through observation of the body and nature.

The parallels are genuinely remarkable!

The Chinese Clock - the body runs on timing

In Chinese medicine, we talk about the Chinese Clock — a 24-hour cycle that maps the flow of energy through the body in 12 two-hour phases.

Each organ has a time of peak energy (when it functions at its best) and an opposite time of rest.

When we live in rhythm with these natural cycles, the body functions optimally - especially our hormones, energy, digestion and sleep.

There are so many things I could say about the Chinese Clock (perhaps topics for future newsletters!), but today I want to focus on how modern hormone research correlates beautifully with this 24-hour energetic cycle.

Early morning (5–7am) — Lung time & circadian rhythm

Chinese medicine says early morning is Lung time - a period for breathing deeply, taking in fresh air, and waking the system gently.

Research shows that getting 10–20 minutes of outdoor light within the first hour of waking regulates your circadian rhythm - your body’s master hormonal clock controlling cortisol, metabolism, mood, and sleep.

This one habit helps:
• regulate daily cortisol patterns
• improve energy and focus
• stabilise mood
• improve sleep at night

So what Chinese medicine taught as “receive the morning air”, science now explains as light exposure regulating hormones.

Morning (7–11am) — Peak digestion & metabolic function

Next in the Chinese clock, the stomach and spleen (your digestive system) are at their strongest. This is when the body is most able to digest food and turn it into energy.

Modern research shows the same:

• Cortisol rises 50–75% within 30–45 minutes of waking to prepare you for the day
• Our cells are most receptive to glucose in the morning
• Glucose tolerance is highest early in the day and declines later

This is why drinking coffee on an empty stomach - which increases cortisol further - can create energy crashes and blood sugar disruption, effects that can be particularly significant for women’s hormones.

It also explains why the most supportive morning routine is:

✓ Eat breakfast first (protein, fats and carbohydrates)
✓ Have caffeine after food — ideally 60–90 minutes after waking

Chinese medicine: digestion strongest in the morning.
Modern science: metabolism and glucose control peak in the morning.

Evening (7–9pm) — Digestive rest & blood sugar regulation

The Chinese clock shows stomach energy at its weakest in the evening - the opposite of its morning peak. This is a time when digestion naturally slows and the body prepares for rest.

Again, research mirrors this:

• Glucose tolerance drops by around 40% in the evening
• Insulin sensitivity declines by roughly 35%
• The same meal eaten late produces higher blood sugar spikes and greater fat storage signals than the identical meal eaten earlier

Yet this is often when we eat our biggest meal.

Night (11pm onwards) — Repair, detox & deep restoration

The women I work with in clinic often hear me say this, but aiming to be asleep by 11pm - or even better, 10pm - is incredibly supportive for the body.

According to the Chinese clock, the gallbladder and liver work overnight to repair and detoxify the body, with the blood returning to the Liver during the early part of sleep for nourishment and restoration.

Modern science shows something strikingly similar.

Growth hormone - responsible for:
• fat burning
• tissue repair
• muscle recovery
• skin regeneration

is released mainly during deep sleep in the first half of the night.

Deep sleep is concentrated in the first 3–4 hours after falling asleep, with the main repair window roughly between 10pm and 2am.

If you fall asleep at midnight, you’ve already missed a large portion of this powerful restoration phase.

What I find most exciting

Chinese medicine observed these rhythms thousands of years ago simply by watching nature and the human body.

Now modern research is measuring the same patterns through hormones, metabolism and sleep science.

If you wanted to support your hormones starting today, try just one:

• get morning light soon after waking
• eat breakfast before coffee
• eat earlier in the evening
• aim to be asleep before 11pm