What time do you go to bed?
Back in 2016, the Great British Bedtime Report found that the most popular bedtime was 10-11pm. However there a lot of night owls out there. Nearly half went to bed later than this. Around a third of us stayed up until 11pm-12am and 18% didn’t go to bed until after midnight. However nearly two in 10 of us favoured an early night going to bed at 9-10pm and 2% hit the sack before 9pm.
However Covid-19 has had an impact on people’s sleeping patterns. A survey by The Sleep Charity last April found that nearly four in 10 people were going to bed later but also nearly a third were waking earlier too.
Time for sleep
Our sleep pressure builds throughout the day and on average most people will tend to feel sleepy around 10-11pm when our sleep need is at it’s highest. Your body temperature and the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, starts to drop plus as the day darkens, your brain will also start to produce melatonin, the hormone you need to make you feel sleepy.
Getting into the habit of a sleep pattern that works well for you is the best strategy. Some of us are naturally pre-disposed to be night owls while others prefer to sleep earlier and wake up early. If you don’t tend to get sleepy until midnight, don’t force yourself to go to sleep at 10pm in the hopes you’ll wake feeling more refreshed.
The best advice is to find a time for bed that works for you and try to stick to it where possible. Our minds and bodies thrive on routine!
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