Circadian Rhythms: Myths About the "Right" Routine and the Mistakes That Drain Us

Every person has their own life rhythm — as individual as their heartbeat. One person recovers in three hours; another needs a full week. Night shifts are perfectly fine for some and genuinely destructive for others. Imposing a "correct" schedule borrowed from a book or the internet, instead of listening to your own body, is one of the most common and most dangerous mistakes people make.

Myth one: there is a universally ideal daily schedule

No single routine works for everyone. The real guiding principle is not someone else's example but the law of least effort for the greatest result. The practical approach is to observe: which activities, social contacts, and mental states give you more energy, better sleep, and more vitality — then build the logic of your day around exactly those things. A schedule invented purely in the head, against one's own nature, leads to steadily worsening exhaustion.

Myth two: you just need to try harder

When a person keeps applying more and more effort yet keeps feeling worse, that is a clear sign they are living against their own rhythm. Dr. Saulitis compares this to paving a footpath where people walk anyway: neurons, like pedestrians, find their own route — the one that matches the person's nature. Forcing an artificial path produces no lasting result.

The mistake: ignoring the "emotional noise" of the morning

Waking up feeling "better if I hadn't" and carrying that tension all day is not laziness or weakness. It is a signal: deep sleep did not happen, the limbic system is running in reactive mode, the neocortex has not engaged. In this state, any small irritation is perceived as a threat. The mistake is to not notice this and push through the day until something gives — overeating, alcohol, or another excess.

How to find your own rhythm in practice

Your personal rhythm cannot be read about — it can only be discovered by trying. Like tasting different fruits: you try things and see what fits. A useful habit is to take a short pause in the middle of the day — five minutes is enough — and ask yourself honestly: are my thoughts energetic and positive right now, or have I been caught in an "everything is bad and it's about me" loop all day? That is a simple but reliable indicator of whether you are living in your own rhythm or fighting against it.