Not Getting Enough Sleep? This Surprising Wellness Hack Could Make Up for It

glamour.com:

matters more than the fact that you did, especially when it comes to long-term health and longevity. Published in , the study, which analyzed sleep data from over 60,000 people, found that those who maintained a regular sleep schedule were linked with a lower risk of death.More specifically, those with consistent —going to bed and waking up at similar times each day—decreased the risk of miscellaneous premature death by 20 to 48 percent, cancer-related death by 16 to 39 percent, and heart or metabolic issues by 22 to 57 percent.This isn't to say adequate rest has no importance, of course.

But the research proves that sleep duration is just a a small part of on overall health and well-being, and sleep experts agree.“I always tell my patients, the timing of your sleep—specifically, the consistency of the timing of your sleep—is just as important as the amount of sleep,” says , PhD, DBSM, a board-certified sleep psychologist and Hatch sleep expert who was not associated with the study. “Everyone’s focused on the eight hours, but if you sleep eight hours at varying times, you’re not going to get the full benefit of sleeping enough.”By Danielle SinayWu also notes that while not everybody needs a full eight hours of sleep, everybody does need consistency in their sleep schedules.“We call it ‘social jet lag:’ when you wake up at different times throughout the week,” she continues, giving the example of waking at 6:00 am on week days and 9:00 am on weekends. “That's like if you flew from New York to LA and back every weekend.

That's the amount of jet lag you're putting on your body.”And like real jet lag, there are real implications for your health.“That's not only detrimental to your sleep—it's also detrimental to your.