What Is the Best Time to Go to Bed?

Key Takeaways:

• A large study found that falling asleep between 10 and 11 p.m. was associated with the lowest risk of heart disease.

• Keeping a consistent sleep schedule may be more important for your health than the specific hour you go to bed.

• There is no single best bedtime for everyone. The right time depends on when you need to wake up, how much sleep you need, and your natural sleep tendencies.

• Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Counting backward from your wake-up time is the simplest way to find your desired bedtime.

When you go to bed can affect how well you sleep, how you feel the next day, and even your long-term health. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, and getting those hours at the right time helps your body get the most out of them.

A study of more than 88,000 adults found that falling asleep between 10 and 11 p.m. was linked to the lowest rates of heart disease over a six-year period. Falling asleep after midnight was associated with a 25% higher risk, and falling asleep before 10 p.m. carried a 24% higher risk.

But the time on the clock may not be the most important part. Recent research shows that going to bed at the same time every night — and waking up at the same time every morning — may matter even more than whether that time is 10 p.m. or 11:30 p.m.

Does bedtime really affect your health?

Your body runs on a circadian rhythm, a 24-hour internal clock that helps regulate when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy. This clock responds to cues like sunlight, meal times, and physical activity. When your sleep schedule lines up with your circadian rhythm, you tend to fall asleep more easily and get better quality rest.

The 88,000-person study used wrist-worn trackers to record when people actually fell asleep, rather than relying on self-reported bedtimes. Even after accounting for age, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, and sleep habits, the 10 to 11 p.m. window still had the lowest cardiovascular risk.

Source: European  Heart Journal

The researchers suggested that sleeping too far outside this window may disrupt the circadian rhythm. People who go to bed after midnight, for example, are less likely to get morning sunlight, which is one of the strongest signals for keeping that internal clock on track.

That said, the study has some limitations. The participants were between 43 and 79 years old, so the results may look different for younger adults. And the connection between late bedtimes and heart disease was stronger in women than in men. The study also only showed an association — it does not guarantee that going to bed at 10:15 p.m. will protect your heart.

Also Read: Want a Healthier Heart? The AHA Says Add Sleep to Your Daily Habits

Why does a consistent bedtime matter?

You've probably heard that getting seven to nine hours of sleep is important. But a 2024 study published in Sleep suggests that how consistent your schedule is (sleep regularity) may matter even more for your long-term health.

Researchers looked at over 10 million hours of sleep data from nearly 61,000 adults in the UK Biobank. They created a Sleep Regularity Index to track how consistent each person's sleep and wake times were from one day to the next.

The study found that people with the most consistent sleep schedules had up to 48% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those with the most irregular sleep schedules. The pattern held across different causes of death:

• 20% to 48% lower risk of all-cause mortality

• 22% to 57% lower risk of dying from heart disease or metabolic conditions

• 16% to 39% lower risk of dying from cancer

When the researchers compared a consistent sleep schedule (sleep regularity) against sleep duration, consistency came out as a stronger predictor of mortality. A consistent 11 p.m. bedtime appears to be more protective than a bedtime that bounces between 9:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., even when the total hours average out the same.

This is related to a concept called social jetlag — the gap between your body's preferred sleep schedule and the schedule your work or social life requires. Sleeping in on weekends and then forcing an early wake-up on Monday creates a shift similar to crossing time zones. 

Over time, repeated social jetlag is linked to higher rates of obesity, depression, and cardiovascular disease.

Also Read: This Common Habit Makes Insomnia Worse

How do you find the right bedtime?

Most people can figure out their best bedtime by starting with when they need to wake up and working backward.

Count backward from your wake-up time. If you need to be up at 6:30 a.m. and you do best on eight hours, your desired bedtime is around 10:30 p.m. Give yourself about 15 minutes to fall asleep, so plan to be in bed by 10:15. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends at least seven hours per night for adults.

Notice how long it takes you to fall asleep. If you fall asleep the instant you lie down, you are likely sleep-deprived. If it regularly takes more than 20 to 30 minutes, your bedtime may not match your body's readiness for sleep — or there may be an underlying issue to discuss with a doctor. A healthy sleep latency is around 10 to 20 minutes.

Think about your natural tendencies. Some people naturally prefer earlier bedtimes and earlier mornings. Others are more alert at night and struggle to wake up early. This is your chronotype, shaped by genetics, age, and light exposure. Working against your chronotype can lead to poor sleep quality, even when your time in bed looks adequate.

Keep your weekend schedule close to your weekday schedule. An extra hour of sleep on Saturday morning is unlikely to cause problems. Three or more hours of sleeping in creates social jetlag and can make it harder to fall asleep on Sunday night. Try to stay within an hour of your usual wake-up time, even on days off.

What happens when you go to bed too late?

Late bedtimes don't just cut your sleep short. They can change the kind of sleep you get.

Your body moves through multiple sleep cycles each night. Each cycle lasts roughly 90 minutes and includes different stages of sleep. During the earlier cycles, you spend more time in deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), which is important for physical recovery, the immune system, and memory. Later cycles shift toward more REM sleep, which plays a role in emotional processing and learning.

Part of the reason earlier bedtimes favor deep sleep has to do with melatonin. Your body's melatonin production begins rising in the evening, typically about two hours before your usual bedtime, and peaks in the middle of the night. Going to bed while melatonin is actively rising helps you move into deep sleep more easily. If you go to bed much later, you are falling asleep after that initial rise, which can mean less deep sleep overall.

Going to bed at 2 a.m. instead of 11 p.m. means your body has already passed through much of its deep sleep window. You may still get 7 or 8 hours of total sleep, but more of it will be light sleep, which can leave you feeling unrested the next day.

This is one reason shift workers, or those working night shifts, often report poor sleep quality even when they get enough time in bed.

Also Read: Keep Waking at 3 A.M.? Common Reasons and What to Do

What if you're a night owl?

Not everyone's body is set up for a 10 p.m. bedtime. Chronotype falls on a spectrum, and some people are naturally wired to stay up later and sleep later.

The issue comes when your natural rhythm doesn't match your daily obligations. When a night owl has to wake up at 6 a.m. every day without shifting their bedtime earlier, sleep debt builds up. Sleep debt is the accumulated effect of not getting enough sleep over time. It doesn't go away after a single night of catch-up sleep, and over weeks and months, it can affect concentration, the immune system, and your risk for chronic health conditions.

If this mismatch becomes severe and persistent, it may develop into a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. A doctor or sleep specialist can help evaluate whether that's what's happening and recommend a treatment approach.

Teenagers and young adults are especially prone to this kind of mismatch since their circadian rhythms naturally shift later during adolescence.

What are some ways to keep a consistent bedtime?

Good sleep hygiene — the habits that support consistent, quality sleep — can make it easier to stick with a regular schedule.

Set a fixed wake-up time first. It's easier to control when you get up than when you fall asleep. Once your wake-up time is anchored, your bedtime will naturally start to follow.

Build a wind-down routine. Spend 20 to 30 minutes before bed doing something calming. Reading, stretching, journaling, or guided breathing can signal to your body that the day is ending.

Keep your bedroom cool and dark. Most people sleep best at around 65°F. Blackout curtains or a sleep mask can help if light is an issue.

Cut off caffeine after early afternoon. Caffeine has a half-life of about five to six hours. That means half the caffeine from a 2 p.m. coffee is still in your system by 7 or 8 p.m. If falling asleep at your desired bedtime is a struggle, try stopping caffeine by noon.

Skip late afternoon and evening naps. Napping too close to bedtime reduces your body's ability to fall asleep at night (sleep pressure) and can make it harder to drift off at your desired bedtime. If you need a nap, keep it under 20 minutes and before 2 p.m.

Limit alcohol in the evening. A drink may feel relaxing, but alcohol disrupts sleep in the second half of the night. It reduces both deep sleep and REM sleep and increases the chance of waking up too early.

Consider a natural sleep aid. If winding down at night is difficult, Sip2Sleep® is a plant-based liquid supplement taken under the tongue for fast absorption. It combines Montmorency tart cherry extract, which supports your body's natural melatonin production, with Rafuma leaf, a botanical extract that promotes relaxation and helps reduce stress and anxiety at bedtime. It is non-habit-forming and works with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle rather than overriding it.

The Bottom Line

The best bedtime is one that gives you enough sleep, aligns with your daily schedule, and stays consistent from night to night. While going to bed between 10 and 11 p.m. may not work for everyone, what matters most is picking a time that fits your life and sticking with it every day, including weekends. 

If you are having trouble falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night, or still feeling tired despite keeping a consistent schedule, talk to a doctor. It could be a sign of an underlying sleep issue worth looking into.

References

1. Nikbakhtian S, Reed AB, Obika BD, Morelli D, Cunningham AC, Aral M, Plans D. Accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study. Eur Heart J Digit Health. 2021;2(4):658-666.

2. Windred DP, Burns AC, Lane JM, Saxena R, Rutter MK, Cain SW, Phillips AJK. Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study. Sleep. 2024;47(1):zsad253.

3. Zuraikat FM, Aggarwal B, Jelic S, St-Onge MP. Consistency is key: sleep regularity predicts all-cause mortality. Sleep. 2024;47(1):zsad285.