Sleeping late at night? Mumbai surgeon Dr Manan Vora shares how daily habits quietly disrupt your circadian rhythm

Daily habits like inconsistent sleep schedules and late night dinners may seem harmless, but are quietly affecting your body's natural rhythm.

Staying up late to finish work, sleeping in after a long night, or pushing dinner to midnight because your schedule got in the way can feel like harmless parts of modern life. But these everyday habits may be doing more than disrupting your routine – they could also be throwing your body's internal clock off balance. Our bodies thrive on consistency, and when that natural rhythm is repeatedly disrupted, it can affect everything from sleep and digestion to hormones and energy levels.

Dr Manan Vora, a Mumbai-based orthopaedic surgeon, health educator and co-founder of NutriByte Wellness, is breaking down the importance of aligning your daily routine with your body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm. In an Instagram video shared on July 15, the surgeon shares the seemingly harmless daily habits that are quietly disrupting this rhythm and how to get it back on track.

What is circadian rhythm?

According to Dr Vora, the circadian rhythm is the body's natural 24-hour clock that influences a wide range of physiological processes. Beyond controlling your sleep cycle, it also regulates hormones, digestion, body temperature, hunger and many other key functions.

He explains, “Your circadian rhythm is your body's internal 24-hour clock. It's running your hormones, your digestion, your body temperature, your hunger, even how your body processes the food you eat. But circadian rhythm affects your body way more than you think.”

What’s messing up your body clock?

Dr Vora highlights that seemingly harmless everyday habits can quietly disrupt your circadian rhythm and throw your body's natural clock off balance. Inconsistent sleep schedules, missing out on morning sunlight and eating dinner late at night can all interfere with this rhythm, affecting not just your sleep but other biological processes as well.

He explains, “Here's where it breaks. You wake up at a different time every single day. You skip morning sunlight. You eat dinner at midnight. and then you pop one melatonin tablet and expect it to fix everything. That's not how this works. Your body doesn't want perfection. It wants consistency.”

How to protect circadian rhythm?

Dr Vora outlines the following habits that actually move the needle when it comes to supporting your body’s natural rhythm:

• Wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
• Get sunlight in the first hour you're awake.
• Eat your meals at roughly the same time daily.
• Dim the lights at night when you go to bed.
• Put your phone away at least an hour before you sleep.

According to the surgeon, once you incorporate these basic habits into your daily routine, your body automatically begins to work in sync with its natural rhythm, which may help improve many common health concerns.

Dr Vora concludes, “Every single organ in your body is running on this clock – your liver, your gut, your brain, all of it. Set the clock right and your entire body starts working with you instead of against you. Stop fixing symptoms. Start syncing the system.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.

Dr Manan Vora is a double board-certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist based in Mumbai. He holds fellowships in interventional regenerative orthopaedics, diplomas in sports medicine, and received the Edinburgh Surgery Global Scholar Award from the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.