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If you could live longer by improving your sleep, would you?
If your answer was “yes,” then new findings presented by the American College of Cardiology in February 2023 may be one more incentive to try. The researchers concluded that “young people who have more beneficial sleep habits were incrementally less likely to die early.” Getting enough sleep may even add years to one’s life, by reducing one’s chances of dying from heart disease, cancer, and other causes of death.
This conclusion strengthens what earlier studies have found in the way of an indisputable link between sleep and longevity. In other words, sleep is more of a health priority than ever before—yet a frustrated one, too, especially for the roughly one in four who develop insomnia in a year. Here are three small adjustments that may help your sleep.
A Consistent Nightly Sleep Schedule
Stick to a regular bedtime routine, by going to bed at roughly the same time at night and getting out of bed at roughly the same time in the morning. The goal is 7-8 hours of sleep.
Sleep also ideally happens during the night, not the day. That is because nighttime sleep promotes circadian alignment, and circadian alignment supports healthy function and overall health. Regularly sleeping through the day, on the other hand, can disrupt one’s circadian rhythm, causing health problems.
One way scientists know this to be true is from observing what happens when circadian misalignment occurs, such as in “third shift syndrome,” which affects nighttime workers. Some of the symptoms include trouble falling asleep, getting no more than five hours of sleep, moodiness and irritability, and illnesses due to a compromised immune system. Research has also found that nighttime work can increase the risks of substance abuse, metabolic disorders, heart disease, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, mental illness, and neurological aging.
15 Minutes for Worries in the Afternoon and “Constructive Worrying”
Anxious rumination and negative thoughts are the biggest cause of insomnia, psychologists say. Worrying is often easier to do at night when the busyness and distractions of the day have subsided. Once the mind gets started, the runaway thoughts and emotions are hard to turn off. This arousal is what prevents sleep more often than other factors.
One solution is to schedule time for worrying earlier in the day, Dr. Aric Prather, Ph.D., said in a November 2022 blog for CNBC. Dr. Prather is a cognitive-behavioral psychologist specializing in insomnia and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted and can be free to list anything that may be causing anxiety. When worry comes at other times like in bed at night, you can tell yourself you’ve scheduled time for worrying so don’t need to worry now. Do this exercise just a few times and it will end the nighttime rumination, Dr. Prather said.
Dr. Prather also suggested “constructive worrying.” Take a sheet of paper and divide it into two columns, “Problem” and “Solution;” then jot down problems that are most likely to cause nighttime rumination with solutions for each.
Alarm Clock Out of Sight
Hide the alarm clock or remove the phone so it’s not in close vicinity and more of a temptation to check. This small change can make it harder to check the time and ruminate about the sleep you’re missing. Watching the clock only exacerbated insomnia, researchers at Indiana University found in a May 2023 study. They also noted a link between watching the alarm clock and use of sleep aids.
A good night’s rest can be elusive for anyone, but these three easy adjustments may make it easier.