For years, falling asleep fast and staying asleep all night has been one of my strong points. I don’t have children waking me up at night. I don’t have trouble falling asleep once I’m in bed and I tend to sleep soundly through the night.
However, my Oura Ring has brought one sleep metric to my attention that I’m lately falling short on: keeping a consistent sleep schedule.
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In reality, I commute over an hour to work some days, work from home others, and I’ve found myself lying in longer at the weekends lately (dark, cold winter mornings just aren’t it).
On the Tom’s Guide sleep team, we often write about how sleep regularity is a golden sleep hygiene rule, and actually more important than sleep duration.
But I’ll eat my words and admit my sleep schedule hasn’t exactly been consistent for the past couple of months — thankfully, my Oura Ring isn’t letting me get away with it.
Research suggests I’m not alone. In fact, data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2020) reveals most Americans don’t have a regular sleep schedule. Yet going to bed and waking up at different times from night to night could be quietly harming your health.
Key takeaways
- If you follow one sleep rule it should be going to bed and waking up at the same.
- A new study shows that sleep regularity can add up to four years to life expectancy.
- Obtaining seven hours of sleep per night, and maintaining a consistent bedtime within a one-hour window, can reduce mortality risk by 24%.
- Haphazard bedtimes can undo a lot of benefits of the right amount of sleep.
The science behind consistent bedtimes
Sleep regularity, which means going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time every night and morning, is associated with several sleep and health benefits. That includes better sleep quality, improved energy levels, a healthier body and boosted longevity.
A consistent bedtime within a one-hour window can reduce mortality risk by 24%
Most recently, a study by Vitality and London School of Economics and Political Science indicated that obtaining seven hours of sleep per night and maintaining a consistent bedtime within a one-hour window can reduce mortality risk by 24% and potentially add up to four years to life expectancy.
Interestingly, this research, which tracked more than 47 million nights of sleep, suggests bedtime consistency was the strongest factor influencing sleep-related health risks (even greater than sleep duration).
Before that, a 2024 study investigating the relationship between sleep regularity and incident dementia in over 88,000 UK participants concluded irregular sleep can pose a dementia risk.
In a 2020 study of nearly 2,000 participants, researchers from Harvard Medical School found people with the most irregular sleep patterns were nearly twice as likely to suffer develop a cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to those with the most regular sleep schedules.
Again, these findings were independent of sleep duration, meaning it didn’t matter if the person averaged the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. If the timing varied wildly from night to night, the risk increased.
All in all, the scientific picture around inconsistent sleep is pretty bleak, and I’ve got my Oura Ring to thank for bringing my shoddy sleep timings to my attention.
How going to bed at the same time improves sleep
Sleeping and waking at the same time every day helps align the body’s natural clock, a.k.a. your circadian rhythm, resulting in shorter sleep latency and more restful nights.
When you go to bed at regular times, your body gets used to producing and repressing sleep-inducing hormones like melatonin on a consistent cycle. This should make it easier to nod off, enter deep sleep stages and stay soundly asleep through the night.
On the flip side, when you wake up at the same time every morning, your body gets better at releasing alertness hormones like cortisol when you need it. This means you’re more likely to wake up with enough energy to power through the day, and can wave goodbye to morning grogginess.
How to keep a consistent sleep schedule
Admittedly, my sleep schedule has been a little haphazard of late. But these are the expert-approved habits I’m employing to improve my sleep consistency going forward…
1. Get morning sunlight
Rise and shine, literally. Time and time again, I write about the benefits of morning sunlight, be it simulated sunlight from a sunrise alarm clock, natural daylight through your window or, best of all, sunlight soaked up on your morning walk.
As a key cue in your circadian rhythm, it tells your body it’s time to wake up, so you can stick to that regular wake time. Research shows morning sunlight also leads to greater sleep drive the following evening, so you’re ready to nod off on time, too.
Plus, giving you an endorphin hit, morning sunlight can boost your mood, energy levels and concentration (hello, productivity). So, pull those curtains back as soon as you get out of bed to enjoy the health and sleep benefits of daylight.
2. Stick to an evening routine
Your internal body clock is governed by external cues including light, temperature and habits. This means you can train your body to wind down in the evening by establishing a nighttime routine.
Said routine should include a series of activities you find calming, be that a dark shower, pre-bed stretch session, meditation or reading. When you practice this routine consistently, your brain and body will naturally get sleepy around that time, helping you maintain a regular bedtime.
3. Eat meals at regular times
What’s your breakfast, lunch and dinner got to do with sleep, you ask? It turns out, there are many connections between our eating habits and sleep. While sugary foods are bad news for sleep, summer fruits are thought to boost sleep quality. And the time we eat plays a crucial role in our ability to rest.
This is because our metabolism and circadian rhythm are interconnected. Eating at regular times through the day helps sync your ‘food clock’ with your ‘sleep clock’. This should mean you avoid late night hunger pangs, cutting out the urge to delay bedtime, and wake up ready for a nutritious, energy-stabilising breakfast.
If there’s one thing that’ll get me out of bed in the morning, it’s the thought of breakfast waiting for me downstairs.
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