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Expert Says Going To Sleep During 'Golden Hour' Can Save Your Life

Expert Says Going To Sleep During 'Golden Hour' Can Save Your Life

Going to sleep much later - or even earlier - than we're meant to can mess up our internal body clock

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A new study has found that when people go to sleep during what has been dubbed 'golden hour' they could be saving themselves in the long run.

What time's this golden hour? You might be wondering. Well it's between 10pm and 11pm (10:59pm to be precise) and nodding off around then has been found to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Panther Media GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo

According to Guy Meadows, clinical director of The Sleep School, our bodies are programmed to feel sleepy in the golden hour and to wake up about eight hours later. He goes on to say that we should sleep in sync with the natural circadian rhythms.

Writing for the Telegraph, Guy explained: "This is far from the first study to show how sensitive we are to sleep timing. Or how important it is to stick to the same sleep/wake cycle on a daily basis. That's because our internal body clock is synchronised by external factors, primarily by the rise and fall of the sun.

"When we wake up the light hits our eyes and it synchronises our body to the time zone we are in. I like to say that humans are solar powered because we are attuned to light and dark cycles and anything that disrupts that will throw our body clock out."

Those pesky clocks have a lot to answer for which has been shown with the spike in heart attacks when the clocks go forward in spring.

There was a 24 percent jump in heart attacks the day after, according to Guy who says that is 'because we've lost one hour of sleep and that's because of the confusion caused to our internal body clock'.

Off to bed we go.
Barny Stockwell/Alamy Stock Photo

But what happens if you can't get to sleep in that crucial hour? Well, first thing's first - turn off your telly, put your phone down, and pick up a book instead.

Swap your emails for some relaxing music and dim the lights if you must. Engage in anything calming which steers you away from being wide awake.

In the morning you want to reverse that and put on bright lights and get ready for the day ahead. According to Guy, a 10 minute walk at 10am is also believed to improve our mental health and our sleep, too.

Featured Image Credit: David Page/Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Study, News, Interesting, Sleep