Keep A Consistent Sleep Schedule

Rise at the same time, every day, 7 days a week.

Humans are creatures of habit and have more difficulty adjusting to schedule changes than we likely realize. For example, when you have too many rise times, your brain gets confused about when to give you the signals to wake up and when to give you the signals to fall asleep.

That's because our circadian rhythm (CR) relies on consistent signals (especially from the sun) to stay in sync.

Supporting the Circadian Rhythm with Rise Time

Your CR relies on consistency to function optimally! And a consistent rise time is the most impactful to your personal rhythm. Here's why:

For your CR to function effectively, your brain relies on signals from the outside world like sunlight, movement, and temperature to either help you wake up or fall asleep.

When you get out of bed consistently, you send the clear message that "this is when I wake up!" Your CR gets the message, and your internal clock is in sync. However, when you vary your rise time by more than 30 minutes, your CR gets out of sync! And that's how sleep becomes unpredictable.

Weekend Relaxation or Social Jet Lag?

Though catching up on sleep over the weekend may temporarily feel good, it causes sleep deprivation during the week. Come Monday, you have to adjust your patterns to the work week, similar to jet lag. There's even a term for this: "social jet lag." By Friday, you're exhausted from spending all week trying to adjust, and the whole cycle starts again. You sleep in on the weekends. Break this cycle now by rising consistently 7 days a week!

Key Tip:

Pick a rise time and don't vary it by more than 30 minutes. More than a 30-minute variation is too confusing for your CR.