How overstimulation, late-night scrolling and missed sunrise cues keep high-achieving moms stuck in burnout
As a powerhouse, leader, mom and business owner you just can’t afford to wake up foggy, dragging yourself through the day, and finding your spark only hits after dark just when your body should be winding down. Yet SO many mom business owners do! And THAT is a sign that your circadian rhythm is off track.
For high-achieving mom CEOs, this isn’t just an energy issue, it’s a business systems issue and a wellness crisis rolled into one. The circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock, wired to align with nature’s light and dark cycle. When this rhythm is disrupted by modern habits, your sleep, energy, hormone balance, mental clarity, and even leadership capacity suffer.
In this post, we’ll walk through the most common habits that silently sabotage the circadian rhythm for powerhouse moms, and how to realign your biology so you can burn brighter instead of burning OUT.
Let’s get into the rhythms that restore.
Skipping the sunrise is costing you your circadian rhythm cortisol curve
Your morning light habit can either make or break your circadian reset
If you roll out of bed, start scrolling your phone or head straight to your laptop or school drop-off line without stepping outside, your brain misses one of its most vital daily signals: sunlight.
Natural morning light; especially within the first hour of waking is the most powerful way to anchor your circadian rhythm. It tells your brain it’s daytime, kick-starts cortisol (your get-up-and-go hormone), and regulates melatonin for better sleep that night.
Habit reset: Step outside within 30 minutes of waking, even if it’s just for five minutes. Walk barefoot in the yard, sip your coffee by the window, or do breathwork facing the sun. This “light hygiene” is one of the simplest ways to reset your biological timing.
Support tool: Consider pairing your morning light ritual with blueblocker glasses from Natural Origins, before the sun rises, to help retrain your cortisol curve and support tired adrenal glands post-burnout.
Getting a second wind after 11PM is not a productivity hack, it’s circadian rhythm chaos
Late-night energy spikes are often a red flag, not a gift
If you find yourself scrolling, working, or re-plotting your business plan at midnight, it may feel like you’re finally getting your edge back. But this “second wind” is often a sign that your circadian rhythm is flipped.
The body gets a small cortisol spike around 9-10PM to signal the final wind-down phase. When you override that by staying up past 11PM, you force the body into survival mode, spiking stress hormones again.
Habit reset: Begin dimming lights and screens by 8:00PM. Create a calming ritual like magnesium soaks or journaling that signals safety and closure to the body and brain. Treat sleep not as a reward but as a CEO-level system. Prioritising your sleep will reward your energy in the day greatly!
Support tool: Try this Sleep and Nervous System mask from Natural Origins. It blocks our all blue light or light signals while sleeping, designed to bring the nervous system out of overdrive, especially if you struggle to “shut off.”
Late-night screens block melatonin and delay deep rest while your circadian rhythm pay the price
Blue light after sunset is like drinking an espresso shot before bed. Who would have thought?
Mom CEOs often run their empire in the only “free” time they get, which is often after the kids are asleep. YES! I used to do just that and I can kick myself in hindsight. This brought so much dysregulation to my nervous system and circadian rhythm. Working on your laptop or scrolling on your phone under artificial light late at night also sends your brain mixed signals.
Blue light tricks your brain into thinking it’s daytime, which blocks melatonin, one of the most important hormones in your body that makes you sleepy and is responsible for many night-time processes to run effectively. Even one hour of screen exposure at night can delay melatonin release by up to 3 hours. Melatonin needs at least 3 hours of total darkness before it is being released. Imagine going to bed at 11PM or 12PM and your body can only start producing melatonin in the morning hours of the following day? You miss your full restoration window. And moms wonder why they are SO TIRED!
Habit reset: Use blue light filters on all devices, and turn on “night shift” mode by 7PM. Even better, ditch screens by 9PM and opt for journaling, meditation, or reading a real book with a warm lamp.
Support tool: If screen use is unavoidable, support melatonin production with a nightly dose of Magnesium Glycinate to help calm the nervous system and ease into sleep naturally. This is just a support tool, not a fix!
Eating late at night confuses your metabolic and circadian rhythm clock
Your digestive rhythm needs a break long before bedtime
Most moms eat dinner late, nibble while cleaning the kitchen, or sneak a bite of dark chocolate in bed. But your metabolism has its own circadian rhythm that winds down with the sun.
When you eat too close to bedtime, your body is forced into digestion mode instead of repair mode. This lowers sleep quality, blood sugar regulation, and mitochondrial function, the energy engines that keep you sharp.
Habit reset: Aim to finish dinner at least 2-3 hours before bed. If hunger strikes late it is a sure sign that you did not support your body’s needs during the day! Establish a kitchen “closing time” like a boss closing up shop. Yes, it’s that important!
Support tool: Use digestive bitters or gentle bile support like TUDCA to help your liver process the day’s meals and transition into rest-and-repair overnight.
Skipping wind-down rituals keeps your nervous system alert
Your body needs cues to transition from lead mode to rest mode
As high-achieving women, we’re constantly shifting gears between business strategy, kid logistics, emotional labour, and visionary thinking. But many skip the most vital switch: transitioning from high alert to deep rest.
When there’s no ritual to help the nervous system downshift, sleep becomes fragmented, shallow, or delayed, even when we’re exhausted.
Habit reset: Build a 30-minute wind-down sequence. Think: herbal tea, dimmed lights, a warm shower, five minutes of vagus nerve stimulation and relaxation breathing, and gratitude journaling. Give your brain and body closure for the day.
Support tool: Explore calming nervous system tools like Holy Basil or Passionflower tinctures to signal safety and allow the parasympathetic state to lead your night. Pair this with Natural Origins’ dim, warm low LUX lighting as a great signal for the body that it is time, and safe to wind down.
Caffeine timing that throws off your circadian rhythm clock big time
Your love for coffee might be delaying your natural wake-up rhythm
Coffee is often a Mom CEO’s best friend, but when consumed at the wrong time, it becomes a circadian disruptor. The biggest mistake? Drinking coffee first thing, especially before sunlight or food.
This forces an artificial cortisol spike before your natural rhythm kicks in. Plus, drinking caffeine after 2PM can linger in the bloodstream well into the night, blocking melatonin.
Habit reset: Delay coffee until after breakfast. Have a hearty, anchoring breakfast first to stabilize your cortisol response. Cut caffeine off after lunchtime to protect sleep onset and quality.
Support tool: Try a morning adrenal tonic, such as orange juice with a bit of coconut water and sea salt added to gently support energy without the crash.
Over-scheduling your day keeps your body in survival mode
Your daily calendar might be more important than your bedtime
Running a business and a household often feels like triage, reacting to what’s most urgent rather than what’s most aligned with your body. But this chaos can keep your nervous system in a chronic state of alert, flattening your cortisol rhythm and disrupting sleep, energy and digestion.
Habit reset: Block off time in your calendar each day for pause. 5 Minutes of stepping outside. 15-minute sun breaks, breathing practices between meetings, and mindful meals help signal to your body: “We are not in danger.” This is rhythm in action.
Support tool: Build recovery rhythms into your week using the Burnout Recovery Journal template in the Burnout-Proof Systems and Rhythms Masterclass, or take part in our “Burnout-Proof circadian rhythm QUIZ” to find out where you have gaps that can be filled to flourish and rebalance your system for good!
Remember, Your rhythm form the ultimate life system
The truth is, you can’t outwork or out-hustle your biology. As a Mom CEO, your energy is your currency and your circadian rhythm is the invisible structure behind it all.
By realigning your habits with your body’s natural rhythm, you don’t just sleep better. You show up with more clarity, stability and vision in your leadership, parenting and legacy-building.
So, what habit will you shift first?
And what if the rhythm of your body is the exact system your business has been waiting for?
