“This large study suggests that going to sleep between 10 and 11pm could be the sweet spot for most people to keep their heart healthy long-term.
The Best Time to Sleep Is Between 8 p.m. and Midnight
It's been proven that optimal restorative sleep is achieved when we go to bed in the evening but not too late — specifically between 8 p.m. and midnight.
Disrupted circadian rhythms: Regularly sleeping after midnight can disrupt the body's natural circadian rhythms, affecting the regulation of essential functions such as hormone release, metabolism, and body temperature.
The optimum time for sleep
The latest research published in the European Heart Journal has identified a sweet spot for sleep – 10 to 11 pm. As per a peer-reviewed article, over 88,000 adult participants were tracked for six years.
If you go to bed later than 1 a.m., you could be at a higher risk of developing mental health issues, whether you are a morning person or a night owl. That is the conclusion of a new observational study from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom.
Similarly, your lungs are most actively detoxifying between 3 and 5 am. Healthy lungs are essential to protect your body from toxins like allergens, pollutants, and smoke. So, you should be in a deep sleep by 3 am every night.
The reason you should be asleep before midnight is because your sleep quality changes. As the night continues and the later you go to bed, the more it alters your sleep structure (aka sleep architecture). Your sleep architecture is the structural organization of normal sleep.
Is it Possible to Sleep 8 Hours in 4 Hours? We hate to break it to you, but it's not possible to sleep eight hours in four hours. We all need a different amount of sleep and if that amount is more than four hours, four hours of sleep won't be enough. There's no way to hack sleep.
Yes, waking up at 4 am can offer many benefits of waking up early, such as improved productivity, better mental and emotional health, and a more structured day. It provides extra hours for personal growth, exercise, and achieving goals with minimal distractions.
The best position depends on your unique needs, but back or side sleeping is considered better than stomach sleeping. Side sleeping may reduce snoring and heartburn and prevent back pain. Sleeping on your back is best for neck pain and nasal congestion.
So, for the majority of people who work or study on a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. pattern, a 'normal' sleep schedule would probably involve going to bed between 10 p.m. and midnight, and getting up between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. in the morning.
People with a condition called delayed sleep-wake phase disorder often have difficulty falling asleep until late into the night. In contrast, people with advanced sleep-wake phase disorder fall asleep early in the evening and wake up early in the morning. Advanced sleep-wake disorder is common among older adults.
Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder can occur in “night owls” when the preferred time for sleep is typically after 2 a.m. with wake up time after 10 in the morning. This results in difficulty falling asleep and waking up at times conducive to school and work.
To establish a more restorative sleep pattern, try going to bed later. Estimate from your diary how much sleep you actually get each night. If you get six hours and you need to wake up at 6 a.m., then don't go to bed until midnight — even if you feel sleepy before then.
The side effects of sleeping late and waking up late include disrupted circadian rhythms, poor concentration, weight gain, increased stress, and a weakened immune system.
Most adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and adolescents need more sleep than adults do. These sleep recommendations provide an overview of how much sleep most people need, but the exact amount of sleep a specific person should get depends on other factors.
This is the cortisol awakening response, and it helps you feel awake and energized in the morning. However, elevated cortisol levels – either from a medical condition or excess stress—can disrupt this diurnal rhythm. So as your cortisol levels naturally rise at 3am, they might spike excessively, waking you up.
Here's how to see the benefits. More people are forgoing plans to get in bed earlier, and they are reaping the benefits.
“Women are also multi-taskers, and they do a lot at once. Because they use more of their actual brain, they may need a little bit more sleep than men. It is still debatable, but some experts say that women need twenty more minutes on average than men usually need.”
If you regularly lose sleep or choose to sleep less than needed, the sleep loss adds up. The total sleep lost is called your sleep debt. For example, if you lose 2 hours of sleep each night, you'll have a sleep debt of 14 hours after a week. Some people nap to deal with sleepiness.