There are times when busy work schedules, some-cliff-hanger or your favourite TV series may keep you wide awake till late hours of night. There can be times when it can be hard going to the bed early. And there can be days when you crash your bed at 10 pm because you are very exhausted. According to a latest report by The Independent, it has been studied that this irregular patter might affect you in more ways than you have expected.
Researchers have found out that people who have regular bedtimes are more successful than those who awakes late hours of night. Scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have found that it is very necessary to sleep at a regular time to have a successful life. A small study was conducted to measure sleep and circadian rhythms in 61 Harvard College undergraduate students for 30 days using sleep diaries, before comparing that data to their academic performance.
The team found that the students with the least regular sleep patterns had a lower grade point average than the others.
Not only that, but those who went to bed at the same time every night, were more likely to get straight up in the morning and fall asleep quicker at night.
People who go to bed at different time tends to struggle every night to fall asleep. This is because of irregular melatonin releases, which is the hormone that makes us want to sleep. Your body clock gets confused because of such irregular timings. Dr Andrew J. K. Phillips, lead study author and biophysicist at the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, shared, “Our results indicate that going to sleep and waking up at approximately the same time is as important as the number of hours one sleeps”. Adding, “Sleep regularity is a potentially important and modifiable factor independent from sleep duration.”
“We found that the body clock was shifted nearly three hours later in students with irregular schedules as compared to those who slept at more consistent times each night,” shared Dr Charles A. Czeisler, senior study author and Director of the Sleep Health Institute at the Hospital. Czeisher further concluded by saying, “For the students whose sleep and wake times were inconsistent, classes and exams that were scheduled for 9am were therefore occurring at 6am according to their body clock, at a time when performance is impaired. Ironically, they didn't save any time because in the end they slept just as much as those on a more regular schedule.”
