Keep a consistent sleep–wake schedule

Go to bed and wake within the same ~30-minute window every day, weekends included.

Why it works

Your circadian clock anchors to regular cues, and a stable wake time is the strongest one. A consistent schedule keeps the timing of melatonin release, core body temperature, and alertness aligned, so you get sleepy and wake up near the same times naturally. Irregular timing — "social jet lag" — forces the clock to keep re-syncing, which degrades sleep quality.

How to do it

1. Pick a wake time you can hold seven days a week and set it first; bedtime follows from it.
2. Keep weekend wake time within about an hour of weekdays to avoid social jet lag.
3. If you sleep badly one night, still get up at your normal time rather than sleeping in.

Evidence

Observational research links irregular sleep timing and social jet lag to worse sleep quality and metabolic and mood measures; regularity is a standard, well-supported pillar of behavioral sleep guidance. (observational)

Much of the evidence is correlational; regularity helps healthy sleep but is not a treatment for clinical insomnia.

Sources

• Wittmann et al. (2006), "Social jetlag: misalignment of biological and social time", Chronobiology International

Common mistake

Catching up by sleeping in on weekends, which shifts the clock and recreates a mini jet lag every Monday.