While sleep may seem like downtime, it’s actually your body’s busiest repair shift. When bed and wake times are consistent, circadian systems line up to support deeper restorative sleep, cleaner metabolism, and improved tissue repair; when they aren’t, systems fall out of sync and small stresses compound.
In celebration of Healthy Aging Month, we’re bringing together leading experts in wellness and longevity to share their insights on how to age with vitality, and how you can weave their strategies into your everyday life.
Dr. Sophie Bostock, known as The Sleep Scientist, makes sleep research accessible and actionable. A keynote speaker and coach, she works with high-performing teams in business, the military, and elite sport to translate circadian science into routines that reduce fatigue and support resilience.
The Sleep–Longevity Link
Q: What’s one new study, discovery, or insight in your field that you’re genuinely excited about right now?
Recent research suggests that how consistent your sleep schedule is may matter more than how many hours you get. In a UK study of over 60,000 adults, participants wore wrist trackers for 7 days so researchers could calculate a Sleep Regularity Index—a measure of how consistently they went to bed and woke up.
During an average of 6–8 years of follow-up, 1,859 participants died from various causes. Those with the most regular sleep schedules were 20–48% less likely to die during that period than those with the least consistent schedules. Meaning sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration.[1,2]
So why is sleep regularity so important? All our cells carry instructions to operate on a 24-hour rhythm, called a ‘circadian’ rhythm. Humans have evolved to be more active and social during daylight hours, and to prioritise rest and recovery at night. When we wake up at the same time each day, this helps to synchronize all our circadian rhythms, enabling the body to work efficiently. Sleep consistency is also linked to deeper, more restorative sleep.[3] Waking and sleeping at irregular times can put our internal systems out of sync, and this ‘circadian desynchrony’ is thought to put stress on the body, which could promote disease and may accelerate aging.[2]
Sleep Myths, Debunked
Q: What’s a common misconception in the field of longevity that you’d like to debunk? What’s the truth people should understand?
I meet many people who are anxious about the impact of poor sleep on their health, worrying that it will cause dementia, for example. Unfortunately, these negative sleep beliefs fuel a cycle of anxiety that makes it even harder to fall asleep.
One often cited study reported that adults in their 50s and 60s who slept for fewer than 6 hours were at “30% increased risk of dementia” over 25 years. This statement only highlights the risk, not the actual number of people who developed dementia, which was only 7.6%.[4]
While it’s certainly important to emphasise that sleep is important for health and wellbeing, most diseases of aging are influenced by many factors. Even if your sleep is poor, you still have control over many other behaviours that influence health and longevity.
Sleep Planning 101
Q: How can someone begin applying this research or insights in a practical, everyday way?
Plan your sleep rhythm for the week: Is there a sleep timing window that you could stick to, to within an hour, most nights of the week? Set a reminder on your phone for both waking and going to bed.
Identify the obstacles and how to manage them: when planning, you may have commitments that will inevitably disrupt your sleep, such as travel or work deadlines. Try to protect a little extra time to bank sleep in the days leading up to this, or to ensure you have time to recover on subsequent nights.
Incentivise success: keep a simple sleep planning checklist on your fridge, or somewhere you will see it each morning, where you can tick off your progress and feel good about success. If you stick to your plan 6 nights a week, think of a treat to reward yourself.
Dr. Bostock's Non-Negotiables
Q: What are the top health habits or routines that you never skip, because they truly make a difference?
A consistent morning wake-up is one way to sync our circadian rhythms, but the strongest signal that tells our brains and bodies to be alert is bright light. So I make sure that I spend at least 20 minutes in natural daylight in the morning. I also work by a window. Intriguingly, one Swedish study in 20,000 adults found that those who avoided sunlight and never smoked had the same life expectancy as smokers. While too much exposure to UV radiation can be harmful without sun protection, spending time outdoors is linked to better mood, sleep, and energy during the day.[5,6]
The Next Big Thing in Sleep Science
Q: What’s something most people aren’t thinking about yet when it comes to healthy aging—but will be in the next 5–10 years?
As I have explained above, there is growing interest in the role of circadian rhythms and what they mean not only for our sleep, but also for our overall health. Recent experiments include restricting the time of eating so that we only consume food during daylight hours, at times when our bodies are more metabolically active. Research suggests that the application of chrononutrition (how meal timing affects metabolism and overall well-being) could help to enhance weight loss or weight management.[7]
Dr. Bostock's Sleep Picks
Q: What is a book, paper, or podcast you think everyone should check out?
As a sleep scientist, I am always looking for new evidence-based strategies to help people sleep. I was skeptical about hypnotism initially, but there is some evidence that it can help people with insomnia to develop better sleep. I really enjoyed my conversation with hypnotherapist Jessica Porter on the Sleep Charity’s Sleep On podcast.
For a tour de force on sleep, circadian rhythms, and why they are important, I recommend a TEDx talk by one of my favourite sleep scientists, Dr Russell Foster.
Why Aging Well Matters
Q: What does aging well or longevity mean to you, personally?
It means being able to keep learning, to be able to live independently, and to find joy in my favourite pursuits, for as long as possible. I am fortunate to have some close friends who are older than me, as well as my parents, who inspire me with their achievements. They are proof that it is definitely possible to age well!
Conclusion:
Dr. Sophie Bostock’s research-backed advice shows that predictable timing, daylight, and smart movement create the conditions your body needs to repair and age well. As timing-focused tools emerge in the years ahead, the simplest wins will still be the small, repeatable habits you can start tonight.
If you want to make those nights work harder, try pairing a consistent sleep window with a scientifically proven nighttime skin care routine.
Key Takeaways:
- When you sleep, not just how long, is a major, underused lever for lowering disease risk and supporting repair.
- Worrying that one rough night will cause long-term harm fuels insomnia; treat sleep problems, don’t catastrophize them.
- A simple sleep plan (bedtime/wake reminders + a recovery strategy for disruptions) is an easy, high-impact habit.
- Make nights count: couple a consistent sleep window with a nighttime skin care routine to amplify repair.
References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29073412/
- https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/47/1/zsad253/7280269
- https://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218%2823%2900166-3/fulltext
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33879784/
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joim.12496
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34488088/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9916946/
