A good night's sleep is often measured by how many hours of shuteye we get, but it turns out when you sleep might matter even more than how long your slumber is.
In fact, as a new study published in the journal Sleep suggests, your sleep regularity (how consistent your sleep-wake timing is) is a stronger predictor of your mortality risk overall than sleep duration. The research found that even people who consistently get 7–8 hours – but who had irregular sleep schedules – each night are at a higher risk of strokes, heart attacks and even cancer than those who slept less but had a consistent schedule.
Overall, people with the most consistent sleep-wake times had up to 48 per cent lower risks of all-cause mortality compared to those with the least consistent routines.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean you can get away with sleeping only four hours a night just by sticking to a regular 3am bedtime – getting enough (but not too much) sleep still matters. In the study, those getting under six hours or over nine each night were at an increased risk of mortality. However, although sleep duration was still important, the link between mortality and regular sleep patterns was stronger and more consistent.
Researchers analysed sleep data from almost 61,000 people in the UK Biobank, totalling over 10 million hours of recorded sleep. They used advanced algorithms to study patterns and then tracked participants' death rates over an average of 6.3 years. By comparing different sleep habits, they identified which factors were linked to a higher risk of early death.
The researchers hope these findings will help update public health guidelines and sleep recommendations. Given the risks, they believe advice should focus not just on getting enough sleep but also on maintaining a consistent sleep schedule for better overall health.
However, more research is needed to see if these findings apply to people outside the UK and across different populations.
Read more:
