Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark

Fix Your Circadian Rhythm: Women & Baby Edition | Heidi Sime

May 5, 2026
Heidi Sime, circadian rhythm expert and co-founder of DreamWalkerz, blends ecological architecture with light-based sleep science. She explains how morning sunlight programs hormones and supports babies, why evening blue light harms skin and cortisol, and simple fixes like dawn sunlight, blue-light blocking glasses, and circadian-friendly nursery lighting.
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ADVICE

Reset Hormones With Morning Sun

  • Get morning sunlight within a half hour of sunrise to program melatonin 14–16 hours later and set appetite, ghrelin, leptin, and other hormones.
  • Heidi Sime recommends exposing large skin areas (tummy, thighs) briefly even in winter to build a protective 'solar callus.'
ADVICE

Remove Tech From The Bedroom

  • Remove tech from the bedroom and eliminate screen use before bed to prevent blue light from suppressing melatonin.
  • Heidi Sime suggests Faraday pouches or placing phones outside the bedroom and using battery alarms instead.
INSIGHT

Melatonin Is A Master Antioxidant Hormone

  • Melatonin is a circulating hormone and master antioxidant, not just a sleep supplement, produced by the pineal and suppressed by light exposure.
  • Even overhead lights register to the pineal as 'noon' and can substantially lower nighttime melatonin secretion.
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