When is the best time to sleep?

Over this past year nearly all of our sleep patterns have had some change through the covid-19 pandemic. Getting to bed at the right time can be so beneficial to our overall health and wellbeing.

Believe it or not, the real key to understanding the perfect time to get into bed is more aligned with what time you need to be up in the morning. Think of it this way: Rather than strive for the same bedtime every night, you should focus on waking up every morning around the same time if at all possible. How about weekends? Sticking to an hour or so within your usual wake-up time on weekends is best. Keeping your wake-up time consistent and then using it to formulate your ideal bedtime may be better than going to sleep every night at the same time with various wake-up calls. Researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggests that a consistent wake-up time, with the same amount of sleep per night, led to more productivity in student’s lives. Determining when you need to be awake and working through a morning routine, then, is important to establish a bedtime, and your body will adjust over time. “The more consistent you are, the more easily your brain will catch up on this pattern and be able to tell you when you should go to bed.”

When is the best time to fall asleep?

When must you wake up? Work backwards from your alarm… an example 10.30pm bedtime works well with a 7.00am wake uptime.

Remember keeping to a regular wake up time helps create a consistent wake up time pattern.

Emma