A healthy circadian rhythm will reset every 24 hours or so, but everybody’s is a little different. This is part of the reason some people are naturally night owls, while others prefer to wake up early in the morning. If you want to improve your sleep, working with your natural circadian rhythm is key. And that means keeping your sleep-wake schedule as regular as possible. “Getting up at the same time every day is sort of like the superhero of sleep advice. It reinforces your natural circadian rhythm,” Robin MacFarlane, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, says. “It may not always feel good to get up at the same time every day, but over the long run, it’s going to leave you feeling as refreshed as you can be.” Ideally, your wake-up time shouldn’t change by more than an hour on any given day—yes, even on the weekends (to combat a phenomenon known as social jetlag)! Sleep need actually looks more like a bell curve, explains integrative medicine physician Dana Cohen, M.D., and it’s thought to be dictated by a mix of genetics1, seasonal shifts, health changes, and age. These are the general guidelines for how much sleep different age groups should get every day—but again, it’s personal: Janet Kennedy, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and founder of NYC Sleep Doctor, provides the following guidance on how to find a time that is best for you: Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
