Daily routines can help you sleep

A study that looked at adult sleeping habits found that those who shad a daily routine had a better quality of sleep and awoke less times during the night.

Going to work the same time each day could be good for your sleep -- really.

A new study, first reported by Reuters, shows that keeping a consistent daily schedule -- where you eat, start working and go outside around the same time each day -- is associated with better sleep.

The study, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Series B, is based on data recorded over 14 days in diaries by 50 younger and 50 older adults. The adults recorded their daily activities, including when they went outside, started work and ate dinner each day, as well as measures of sleep (including how long they slept at night, sleep quality, how many times they woke up at night, what time they went to bed and what time they woke up).

Researchers found that on a whole, variability of timing of activities affected sleep more than the actual timing of the activities. (Though older adults did experience some sleep benefits from schedule variability; this association was not seen in younger adults.)

"For example, people reported better sleep quality and fewer awakenings at night when they were consistent in the time they first went outside," study researcher Natalie Dautovich, of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, told Reuters.

Having regularity in your schedule may not only be a good thing for sleep. Past studies have also shown that younger kids with regular bedtimes are better behaved than those who go to sleep at inconsistent times. And a study from Brigham Young University showed that having consistent sleep and wake times is associated with lower body fat levels among young women.

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Routines can enhance sleep, study claims

According to a study, having a constant routine each day can enhance your sleep quality.

Maintaining a consistent daily routine may be linked to better sleep, according to a small new study.

Young adults who went to work and ate dinner around the same time every day typically slept better and woke up fewer times during the night. They also fell asleep more quickly at bedtime.

Yet the exact time people performed daily activities - say, eating dinner at 6 p.m. versus 8 p.m. - had little bearing on how well they slept.

"For the majority of sleep outcomes, we found that completing activities at a regular time better predicted sleep outcomes than the actual time of day that activities were completed," Natalie Dautovich, a psychologist at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, said. She led the study, which was published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

"For example, people reported better sleep quality and fewer awakenings at night when they were consistent in the time they first went outside.

On the other hand, for older adults, inconsistent daily schedules were sometimes linked with better sleep, the researchers found.

For instance, older people whose dinnertime varied tended to sleep longer at night. And those who started home activities or began work at different times each day fell asleep more quickly.

The study included 50 adults between the ages of 18 and 30 and another 50 between 60 and 95. Participants kept a diary of when they performed regular activities and how well they slept at night for two weeks.

Instead of opening the door to new recommendations or sleep treatments, the authors said the study best serves to create questions for future research.

Those questions include whether older adults who have more variation in their daily schedules are already healthier and more socially active - or whether it's the variety in one's everyday schedule that provides the activity and stimulation that help ensure good sleep, according to Dautovich.

"We know that good sleep at night is dependent in part on our drive to sleep, which is based on how active and alert we are during the day," she said.

For that reason, being out and about during the day remains one of the best ways to maximize the chances of a solid night of shut-eye.

"Greater activity and levels of alertness during the day increase our need to sleep at night," Dautovich said.

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