In wood-paneled room lit by morning sun, there's an unmade bed with cream and orange linen sheets and blankets. The atmosphere is warm, cozy, and natural.

Longevity is about living well, not just adding years to your lifespan. That’s why I developed five simple Longevity Switches—practical, everyday habits backed by modern science and Ayurvedic wisdom. Each one is designed to help you feel more vibrant, resilient, and energized as you age.

Today, we’re exploring Longevity Switch #3: Sync with Nature.

If this is your first read in the series, it’s okay to start here! But if you want to catch up, here’s what you’ve missed:

Understanding your body’s natural rhythms.

Your body follows a circadian rhythm, a 24-hour internal clock that controls sleep, digestion, and energy. Staying up late, eating at night, or too much screen time can throw it off, leading to tiredness, weight gain, and health issues.

In Ayurveda, we’ve known this all along: your health depends on syncing your daily habits with the rhythm of nature. And now, modern science is catching up. Research shows that even small disruptions to your circadian rhythm can impact metabolism, blood sugar, and hormone balance.

You don’t need a total lifestyle overhaul. Just a few intentional shifts in your daily routine can improve your health long-term.

Ready to go deeper?

If you’re loving these Longevity Switches and want to bring them to life in your daily routine, I’d love for you to join my upcoming Longevity Switch Course.

This 5-week guided experience blends Ayurveda and modern science to help you create sustainable habits for more energy, better digestion, and lifelong vitality. You’ll get daily lessons, live weekly coaching with me, and the support of a private Instagram community to stay inspired and accountable.

Spots are limited—join the waitlist here and be the first to know when doors open!

3 Ayurvedic ways to sync your circadian rhythm.

#1 - Waking up and sleeping at the same time every day

Sleep is one of the most powerful longevity practices we have—and it’s completely free. But in today’s non-stop world, consistent rest is often the first thing to get pushed aside.

Without deep, regular rest, your body struggles to digest, repair, and regenerate. Hormones fall out of rhythm, the immune system weakens, and mental clarity fades. Studies show that both too little and too much sleep are associated with a higher risk of chronic illness, including heart disease and diabetes (Nagai et al., 2010).

A consistent sleep schedule helps your body’s master clock stay on schedule and in balance. Your body relies on light cues to regulate your circadian rhythm, but it also responds to when you sleep, how you eat, and how you wind down in the evening.

Aim for the same bedtime and wake-up time every day, even on weekends. Research shows that sleeping in on weekends doesn't reverse the health effects of poor sleep during the week—in fact, an inconsistent sleep schedule may further disrupt your circadian rhythm and increase your risk of metabolic issues. (Depner et. al., 2019)

I recommended starting small by mastering one of these 5 Ayurvedic sleep rituals. Once you’ve developed a consistent routine with one habit, you can stack another and improve your sleep over time.

Longevity Tip: Support your sleep by getting more natural light during the day. It may sound counterintuitive, but natural light signals your body to produce hormones that manage alertness (cortisol) and sleepiness (melatonin).

#2 - Wait 90 minutes after waking up to drink coffee.

“Coffee is the perfume we put on for bad sleep.” I love this phrase, shared with me by Dr. Satchin Panda, a circadian medicine researcher. In our conversation on The Healing Catalyst, we discussed how many of us rely on coffee to kickstart our day when we really need better sleep.

But that doesn’t mean you need to ditch your morning coffee ritual. Instead, delay your first cup of coffee. Caffeine keeps you alert by blocking adenosine—a chemical that makes you feel sleepy. But in the morning, your adenosine levels are naturally low, so caffeine doesn’t have much to block, which means it’s less effective right after waking.

If you drink coffee too early, your body doesn’t get the full effect of caffeine later in the day, leading to energy crashes and reliance on more caffeine.

I recommend starting your day with a warm cup of CCF tea—a classic Ayurvedic remedy that gently wakens and stimulates your system for all-day support. You can even start with warm water and lime instead.

Longevity Tip: Drink your CCF tea or warm water with lime while getting 10 minutes of natural light in the morning. I love to sit on my porch and sip my tea to start the day. You can pair this with a journaling practice, too. And then, make your coffee to get the full effects.

#3 - Sync your meals to the path of the sun.

In Ayurveda, we say that when you eat matters just as much as what you eat. That’s because your digestive fire, or agni, followed the path of the sun. In other words, digestion is strongest at midday and weakest in the morning and at night.

Research shows your body processes food best between 10 AM and 2 PM, when metabolism and insulin sensitivity are at their peak. Eating most of your calories earlier in the day has been shown to support better blood sugar control and lower insulin levels.

Eating late, on the other hand, works against your biology. Studies show it disrupts your circadian rhythm and impairs glucose metabolism, increasing the risk for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Mason et al., 2021).

From an Ayurvedic perspective, our agni is at its weakest in the evening, so eating late can worsen sluggish digestion, toxin buildup (ama), and disrupted sleep.

Align your meals with the rhythm of the sun—lightest in the evening, heaviest at lunch, and consistent each day. This simple shift can support your energy, digestion, and long-term health.

Longevity Tip: Make lunch your largest meal and finish dinner by 7 PM to support your body’s natural detox and repair cycles overnight.

These small changes may seem simple, but over time, they create powerful momentum for long-term health. Start with one shift—and let it be the spark for your journey toward vibrant longevity.

And if you're hungry for a deeper dive into longevity and energy from an integrative perspective, check out my book The Longevity Formula.

Be well,