It’s no secret that sleep is a foundational pillar to our overall well-being, on par with factors like diet and exercise. And sleep, like so many things, appreciates consistency. Here’s why it’s essential to keep up with a steady bedtime and wake-up time, and some advice on how to reset your sleep schedule if it’s gotten off track and you can’t sleep.
Our natural sleep and wake cycles are determined by our body’s circadian rhythm.
As board-certified sleep specialist Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., explains to mbg, the circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that your body repeats over and over. “It basically ‘runs’ your sleep—starting it and stopping it—by sending out neurochemical signals telling each area, organ, or receptor site what to produce, what to receive, and what to do,” he explains.
And according to naturopathic sleep doctor Catherine Darley, N.D., “There are also clock genes in each cell, which makes the cell do more or less of its function at different times of the day.”
Many of our rhythms are dictated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the body’s “central pacemaker” in the hypothalamus of the brain. Environmental factors like lighting entrain this pacemaker, which is why you’ll often hear the advice to seek bright light during the day and darkness at night to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
Keeping your body clock in sync with the actual clock and its steady cycles of day and night can pay dividends for many aspects of your health, including your sleep.
Why sleep schedules are important.
Having an inconsistent sleep schedule can hinder sleep quality over time. As Darley notes, “With an irregular sleep-wake schedule, people can have difficulty sleeping at night, and troubles with alertness during the day.”
Consider times you’ve been jet-lagged or lost an hour of sleep because of daylight saving. “You get sleepy when you need to be awake, and vice versa,” Breus explains. But the good news is, “The more consistent your sleep schedule, the more ‘aligned’ your rhythm becomes,” he says.
Things that can throw off your sleep schedule.
There are a number of things that can interfere with your sleep schedule, from social obligations to travel and more. Even someone’s weekly routine of staying up late and sleeping in on the weekends can throw off their sleep schedule come Monday, a phenomenon called social jet lag.
And as Breus adds, other lifestyle factors can come into play too, such as drinking alcohol before bed (which negatively affects REM sleep), having too much caffeine during the day, or looking at electronics at night and exposing yourself to blue light.
And of course, as anyone who’s ever been stressed before knows, a racing mind isn’t conducive to sleep either, so stress can affect your sleep schedule as well. Even fluctuations through a woman’s menstrual cycle can disrupt sleep, Breus notes.
Expert tips to get your sleep schedule back on track:
1. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day.
According to Breus and Darley, the most important thing to do when trying to regulate your circadian rhythm is to standardize the time you wake up (and actually get up). “Ideally your wake and rise time should not vary more than an hour (or even a half-hour) each day,” Darley says, even on the weekends.
Not only does this help you wake up, but as your sleep drive builds throughout the day, it will help you get sleepy at a predictable time each evening. “Waking at an inconsistent time makes it so that a person isn’t predictably sleepy at the same time and can’t sleep as well,” Darley adds.
2. Get outside during the day.
Light plays a big role in the circadian rhythm, and one of the best ways to get your circadian rhythm back in order, Darley notes, is to get bright outside light first thing in the morning, as well as throughout the day. It won’t take long: Research out of the University of Colorado–Boulder shows that just a week of camping in the great outdoors can get people’s circadian rhythms aligned with the sunrise and sunset.
3. Have a consistent daily routine.
Along with having consistent sleep and wake times, Breus and Darley note that having a regular daily routine also helps get the circadian rhythm back into alignment. Breus advises keeping your meals on a consistent schedule, and Darley notes you can also exercise and work at the same times, as well.
According to Breus, caffeine and booze could be affecting your sleep more than you realize. Previous research has indicated you’ll want to hold off on that afternoon cup of coffee, avoiding caffeine at least six hours before bed—if not more.
And as far as alcohol goes, Breus previously explained that it takes the average person one hour to digest one drink, so he suggests limiting yourself to two drinks, having a glass of water with each, and stopping drinking at least three hours before bedtime.
Last but not least, given what we know about how light affects the circadian rhythm, Breus notes you’ll want to limit (or avoid altogether) blue light from screens before bed. Perhaps you opt for a good book or journaling rather than scrolling through your Instagram feed.
And of course, if you can’t resist the scroll, you can try blue-light-blocking glasses, or turn on your phone’s nighttime setting if it has one.
If your sleep schedule is all over the place, it’s important to take steps to get it back on track. Practicing good sleep hygiene, especially going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, will go a long way in improving sleep so you can function at your best.
