Why Going to Sleep During the ‘Golden Hour’ Could Save Your Life

Sleep is a crucial facet of good health. It improves mood, boosts cognition and memory, strengthens the immune system, and reduces stress. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get proper rest, and many people wake up just as groggy and exhausted as the night before. There are different factors that contribute to a good night’s rest, and a 2021 study focused on bedtime. This research showed that going to sleep during the “golden hour” can lower the risk of heart disease. 

The best time to go to sleep

The researchers consider the golden hour of sleep is between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. It earned that name because theoretically going to sleep during this time provides the best quality of rest. And this study found it could also provide better heart health.

Published in the European Heart Journal-Digital Health, the study followed the sleep patterns of over 88,000 adults aged 43–79 in the U.K. for one week from the year 2006 to 2010. The researchers recorded data from the accelerometers the participants wore on their wrists. Then they followed these adults for about 5.7 years on average to see if any would develop cardiovascular disorders, including heart attacks, stroke, chronic ischemic heart disease, transient ischemic attack, and heart failure.

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Golden hour or after midnight?

During their analysis, the study authors found that people who went to bed at midnight and later had the highest rates of cardiovascular conditions. Meanwhile, those who went to sleep in the golden hour had the lowest rates. These rates did not change even after the researchers accounted for heart disease risk factors like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and smoking. This association was more pronounced in the female participants than the males. 

Maintaining the circadian rhythm

The researchers attributed this phenomenon to the body’s circadian rhythm, which is the internal clock that regulates sleep cycles over the course of 24 hours. Traveling across time zones can throw off the circadian rhythm, resulting in jet lag. But when it comes to health, disruptions to this rhythm can contribute to a higher risk of heart disease.

“Our study indicates that the optimum time to go to sleep is at a specific point in the body’s 24-hour cycle and deviations (from that) may be detrimental to health,” said study co-author David Plans of the University of Exeter.  

This isn’t the first time circadian rhythm disruptions have been linked to poor cardiovascular health. Another study discovered that female nurses had a considerably higher risk of heart disease and other serious health conditions after working the night shift for many years. 

Golden hour or sleep quantity?

However, some sleep experts are wary about the golden hour study. “Given the way society works, aren’t the people (who are) going to bed earlier just sleeping more?” asks Dr. Chris Winter, author and sleep specialist. It’s true that the participants who went to bed after midnight averaged 5.5 hours of sleep a night, as opposed to the participants with the golden hour bedtime who got 6.5 hours a night. 

Winter adds that it’s important to differentiate between causation and correlation in population studies like this one. “There is a huge relationship between people who carry lighters and lung cancer. That does not mean carrying a lighter causes lung cancer,” he explains. “In my opinion, with the size of this population study, they should have normalized all four groups to [get] the same average sleep amount, and then looked at cardiovascular disease rates over time.” This format may better differentiate if improved heart health comes from a specific bedtime or sleep quantity.

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The study’s caveats

The study authors themselves state that their research doesn’t establish a link between the golden hour and cardiovascular health, rather it indicates there may be one. There were other caveats in the study, namely that the participants came from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and only 5% of them had ever worked shift jobs. Shift workers are famously sleep-deprived, often getting two to fours hours less than average a night.

How to improve your quality of sleep

If you are struggling with your health and feeling exhausted during the day, evaluate your sleeping habits. Going to sleep during the golden hours is not feasible for many people, and there’s no need to stress about bedtime until research (or your doctor) says it’s necessary. After all, there are many ways to improve the quality of sleep.

For optimal health, experts generally recommend getting nine to seven hours of sleep a night. Map out your day-to-day schedule, particularly the responsibilities that come up at night and in the morning, and set a bedtime regime based on that. If you can go to sleep during the golden hour, great, but don’t worry if not. The important thing to focus on is a consistent schedule.

Additionally, use a bed and a bed and nothing else. “In terms of sleep hygiene, the bed is for sleep and intimate relations. It’s not for other things,” says sleep medicine specialist Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, DO, MS. “It’s not a place to use your laptop, watch movies, or have long conversations. Those things will eventually promote a sloppier sleep hygiene that, in turn, will reduce your quality and quantity of sleep.”

Wind down and set a routine

Another important aspect of sleep hygiene is winding down before bed. It’s perfectly understandable to have trouble falling asleep if you were running around doing work and chores moments ago. About an hour before your bedtime, start to slow down. Enjoy calming activities like reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, or your favorite kind of self-care. 

Take some time to calm your mind so you don’t lie awake stressing; try journaling, meditation, yoga, and similar methods. But avoid working out since exercise could stimulate the body. Then create an order of activities preparing for sleep, such as bathing or showering, skin care, brushing your teeth, etc. Keep to the same order every night.

Routine is key to getting a good night’s rest, and it could be as short or as long as you like, whatever works. It may take some trial and error to find the best bedtime and winding down activities but your body—especially your heart—will thank you.

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