Consistent sleep schedule is less of a luxury and more of a physiological necessity when you're aged 40 and over, according to a groundbreaking new study by Vitality and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Researchers behind the study have found that sticking to two very specific sleep hygiene habits — dubbed the ‘7:1' sleep rule — can potentially increase your lifespan by four years.
The 7:1 sleep rule describes the practice of achieving at least seven hours of sleep a night and falling asleep within the same one-hour window (half an hour on each side).
Off the back of this brand-new study, doctors are now urging that sticking to the 7:1 rule in middle age and beyond could improve your life expectancy by 24% and protect against cognitive decline.
We asked a round table of doctors why the 7:1 sleep rule is especially vital for people aged 40 and above to follow, and how to stick to it when life tries to get in the way. This is what they said...
Key takeaways
- Doctors explain how a regular sleep schedule is especially important if you're aged 40 and over in order to mitigate reduced sleep quality and protect against cognitive decline.
- The '7:1' rule means getting seven hours of sleep within the same one-hour window at least five nights per week.
- Scientists analysed 47 million nights of sleep data and found that following those two sleep hygiene habits can help you live up to four years longer.
Why is the 7:1 sleep rule crucial for longevity in people aged 40 and over?
While not getting the quality or quantity of sleep we need comes with a whole host of health risks for any age group, insufficient sleep in middle age and above increases your risk of cognitive decline.
For those aged 40 and over, hormonal fluctuations means sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented.
That means the amount of deep sleep we get declines in middle age and beyond, and we experience frequent nighttime awakenings.
Multiple studies have also linked regular insufficient sleep (categorized as less than seven hours per night) for those aged 40 and above to an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's.
"Your body's internal clock (circadian rhythms) gets weaker after 40, so sticking to the same sleep and wake times protects your heart, metabolism, and overall health in ways that sleeping in on weekends can't fix," explains Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, a a triple-board-certified sleep medicine physician.
"Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day matters way more than people realize"
Dr. Greg Jones, NMD, ABAAHP
"Once you hit your 40s, sleep stops being 'nice to have' and starts acting like preventive medicine.
"Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day matters way more than people realize because your body loves rhythm," explains Dr. Greg Jones, NMD, ABAAHP, longevity keynote speaker.
Why your brain and body need your sleep to be predictable when you're aged 40 and over
This natural disruption in our sleep quality comes at a stage of our lives when quality sleep is crucial for staving off cognitive decline, which is linked to insufficient sleep.
"An inconsistent sleep schedule disrupts your brain’s cleanup process (also known as the glymphatic system), raises stress hormones, throws off blood sugar and metabolism, and ramps up inflammation — which is basically the fast lane to aging faster," adds Dr Jones, also the founder of Enovative Wellness.
As well as protecting your brain health, quality sleep when you're aged 40 and over helps protect cardiac health, repair tissues and boost your immune system.
"Your heart, immune system, and hormones all repair and reset while you sleep, but they only do it well when sleep is predictable," concludes Dr Jones.
"Bottom line: it’s not just about how much sleep you get anymore, but also about when you sleep.
"If you’re over 40 and care about longevity, having a consistent sleep schedule might be one of the simplest, most powerful things you can do (even on weekends)."
How our sleep changes when we're aged 40+
For those aged 40 and above, hormonal fluctuations and lifestyle demands are natural barriers for deep, quality sleep.
"After 40, you tend to get less deep sleep and wake up more easily during the night due to a higher proportion of lighter sleep.
"With age, you are more likely to develop medical sleep disorders like sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome," explains Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, a a triple-board-certified sleep medicine physician.
Added to this natural tapering off of sleep quality, those over 40 are in the ‘Sandwich Generation,’ where they are caring for aging parents and kids, as well as meeting challenging work demands, explains Dr Afolabi-Brown, a sleep expert and best-selling author.
This ultimately leads to stress, which can also significantly disrupt sleep. A powerful way to combat this decline of sleep quality is to stick to a regular sleep schedule, like the 7:1 sleep rule.
Women over 40 are also likely to start experiencing perimenopause symptoms, including hot flashes and insomnia (for more information, check out our guide to how women's sleep changes at 30, 40 and 50.)
"Your body's internal clock (circadian rhythms) gets weaker after 40, so sticking to the same sleep and wake times protects your heart, metabolism, and overall health in ways that sleeping in on weekends can't fix," concludes Dr Afolabi-Brown.
More about the study
By mining the data of 47 million nights of sleep — taken from 105,000 individuals and data from their sleep trackers over a period of several years — researchers behind the Vitality and London School of Economics and Political Science established that 41% of people in both the US and UK regularly get less than seven hours of sleep per night.
They also discovered that getting less than six hours of sleep per night is linked to a 20% increased risk of early death.
To mitigate this, researchers recommend that we all learn how to achieve the 7:1 sleep goal at least five times a week.
This can improve your life expectancy by 24%. However, only 10% of the case studies evaluated in the study currently adhere to the 7:1 rule.
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