This is the most important sleep habit we need

Monday, 7.30am. The alarm goes off, you open your eyes, and it feels like you've been runover by a truck. "But I slept eight hours," you tell yourself. Tuesday, 9am, same feeling. "I didn't even go to bed that late..." And so it goes on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... We live exhausted, paying little attention to something as vital as sleep. Some suffer from insomnia, others sleep too little, some sleep too much... and all of it works against us..

A recent study has found that there is a habit more important than the number of hours you sleep—more important, in fact, than the widely recommended eight hours of sleep. The research was conducted by a team of experts from Monash University in Australia, the University of Manchester in the UK, and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, USA. Their main conclusion is that sleep regularity is the cornerstone of maintaining good health.

Being regular means "going to bed and waking up at the same or almost the same time, with minimal variability," explains Manuel de Entrambasaguas, a member of the insomnia task force of the Spanish Sleep Society. Researchers state that maintaining this habit can "reduce the risk of premature death from any cause by between 20% and 48%."

This conclusion is based on the analysis of sleep records from 502,000 people aged 40 to 69, collected by the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010. Mortality rates were tracked for up to seven years afterward.

Poor sleep rhythm can make us sick and is linked to a higher risk of developing cancer, cardiometabolic diseases, and premature death. That's why, according to De Entrambasaguas, it is essential to be aware that sleep is not something we can do without, nor is it a period we can shorten to make time for other things. "It is a fundamental part of our physical and mental health," says this neurophysiologist and sleep expert from the Clínico Hospital in Valencia.

The advice, therefore, is to try to go to bed and wake up at a similar time every day. At first, it will be difficult, and we will still need to set an alarm, but as we maintain the habit, our body will eventually "wake up a few minutes before the alarm goes off" and, even better, "we will start feeling sleepy around the same time each night."

But is it possible to put this recommendation into practice? The first obstacle we face, and perhaps the most insurmountable, is work. Almost four million people work shifts in our country, which means two out of every ten employees, according to Spain's national institute of statistics (INE). And these shifts also include the night shift, which affects 2.3 million people.

– In these cases, what can be done to take care of our health?– What is most destructive is chopping and changing: one day I work a morning shift, two days later an afternoon shift, then three days of night shifts... The ideal is a regular schedule so our body can get used to it. And there is now legislation on this. However, we are probably not aware of another harmful factor, as damaging as shift work: the time shift during days off or weekends.

"Our brain doesn't distinguish whether it's a holiday or not. We invented that. For our body, every day is the same." Therefore, indulging in excesses like going out, staying up late, and getting up late "is also not advisable."

The best approach is to respect our circadian rhythms, which are a "biological phenomenon." Since the beginning of life on Earth, living beings have been active during daylight hours and have rested during darkness.

"We have a group of specialised neurons in the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is our central clock, regulating our functions and rhythms," explains De Entrambasaguas.

Two other important factors when adjusting sleep.

Homeostasis–"Our biology requires us to sleep a balanced amount of hours to stay healthy"

Social requirements- where, as mentioned, sometimes we can do more than we think. Some of the enemies of sleep are within our control. This is the case with mobile phones, Netflix, or the TV.

"It's important not to get hooked on watching the next episode when we start noticing the first signs of sleepiness," recommends the Valencian doctor.

Do I need to use an alarm clock?

If our body is regulated, we will generally feel sleepy and wake up at the same time. This explains why some people are able to open their eyes before the alarm goes off.

When I’m not working, will I sleep longer?

If we’re sleep-deprived during the week, it’s obvious that we’ll sleep more on the weekends, but although this is common, it’s not what should happen. We should be well-rested and, therefore, rest the same number of hours consistently.

Do I fall asleep during the day at times I shouldn’t?

Sleep fragmentation is just as important a disorder as insomnia. If we need to take naps or fall asleep at times when we shouldn’t, it means we have a problem. “There are people who sleep eight hours but don’t rest,“ admits Dr. Manuel de Entrambasaguas. And then, they nod off during the day, which worsens the issue.