Take one 2018 survey of over 1,000 people conducted by the sleep news site Mattress Inquirer that found that people with a strict wake-up time reported being more content overall in every area of their lives. Compared to people who were looser about the time they get up each morning, people with strict wake-up times were 13% more satisfied with their personal lives, 45% more satisfied with their financial situation, and 42% more satisfied with their work-life balance. While these findings are based totally on self-reporting without the in-depth statistical analysis typical of scientific studies, it’s always fascinating to observe baseline associations between sleep rituals and life satisfaction. Findings like these raise the question: Why might keeping a definitive wake-up schedule be such an effective practice? Others simply might thrive on the idea of having more hours in the day. After all, research suggests that getting up early could be the key to peak productivity1, which would explain why people who wake up at the same time every morning are so much happier with their financial and work situations. A lot of people use weekends as the time to sleep in and make up for the hours lost during the busy week, which often leads to staying up later, thus throwing off the sleep schedule. Research suggests this irregularity can negatively impact one’s cholesterol2, diet3, and cardiometabolic health4. Since these small irregularities in our sleep schedules can have such a large impact on our bodies, it’s not such a stretch to think they might also be affecting our mental states. “Nobody wins. You’re not getting great rest, and you’re also not having a leisurely, relaxed morning,” holistic psychiatrist Ellen Vora M.D. previously told mbg. And of course, making sure you’re getting good sleep the night before is key to waking up feeling refreshed. Avoiding alcohol and stimulants, cutting back on late-night snacking, meditating, or doing another mind-clearing ritual before bed, shutting off technology at night, and taking a sleep-promoting supplement can all help you achieve deeper, more restorative sleep.* Fratangelo is a former editor of Latina magazine, where she covered sex, women’s health, and relationships. She’s reported on everything from mental health research to celebrities’ favorite workouts. Her work has appeared in Revelist, POPSUGAR, Reader’s Digest, and more. When she’s not typing away at a coffee shop, you can find her running around Brooklyn or relaxing at the beach on the Jersey Shore.
