As the relaxing months of summer wind down, do you ever feel a panic when someone asks, “Are you ready for September”? If so, you’re not alone. The summer months are glorious. They afford us time with family and friends and allow us to loosen the grip on our otherwise often overstructured days. But as August drifts into September, the need to re-enter a regular routine is ever present. I’ve experienced this in my own life. As a mother of two young children, I relish the summer months. Our mornings are unhurried, and we aren’t rushing after school to a hundred different activities. But I know what it means when September hits. As a sleep physician and a mom, I’m often caught off guard by the need to return to more organized days and nights.

Getting back into a sleep routine is important, and not just in September. New research shows that how consistent our sleep schedule is may matter more than the total number of hours we sleep each night.

I can recall in my own practice over the years encouraging patients to focus on hitting certain sleep targets. These targets included sleeping between seven and nine hours every night. That’s because when you don’t consistently get enough sleep, you can experience real consequences outside of just feeling tired. Insufficient sleep has been linked with cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, depression, and even a shorter lifespan.

A recent study from the UK of over 60,000 individuals with 10 million hours of sleep data found that greater sleep regularity was associated with a 20 percent to 48 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality and was an even stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration itself. While the study was observational in nature, meaning it can’t prove cause and effect, it does raise the question of whether I, as a sleep physician, should be encouraging my patients to also focus on how regular their sleep is. After reading this study, the answer is an overwhelming yes.

The Importance of the Circadian Rhythm

So why is sleep regularity so important? It has to do with our circadian rhythm. This is an internal 24-hour clock governed by specialized cells deep within our brain. But it’s not just our sleep that relies on the circadian rhythm. Many other body systems need a regular 24-hour cycle, too. These include our blood pressure, hormones, and immune function. In fact, disruption to our circadian rhythm can raise our cancer risk by throwing off the daily processes that normally protect our cells.

But I know what you’re thinking because I hear it from my patients frequently. They tell me, “Dr. Filate, I can’t go to bed at the same time every night because I won’t have any fun!” Now I’m not suggesting that you pull back from social activities and other engagements because of the desire to maintain a strict sleep and wake time, but I want to make sure you understand the importance of maintaining a regular bedtime and wake time as much as possible.

Your September Reset: The “Sept” Method

How do you get back into your routine this September? Start with small changes. We know that small changes over time lead to big, sustainable results. To help you, here is my four-step “Sept” method to get your sleep back on track this September:

• “S”—Set a target wake time. This September, pick your desired wake time and stick to it. For some of you, that may be 6 a.m.; for others it may be 7:30 a.m. Whatever that time is for you, do your best not to deviate from it. There may be mornings when you are exhausted at your wake time. While I know it’s hard, don’t stay in bed longer. You can always go to bed earlier that night or squeeze in a short nap in the early afternoon.
• “E”—Eliminate electronics at night. While challenging, it’s imperative that you try to eliminate electronics and bright light in the hour before bed. Since light is a powerful signal to our circadian rhythm, you want to avoid signaling to your brain that it’s morning. If it’s too hard to cut out electronics for 60 minutes before bed, try working through 15-minute increments.
• “P”—Practice on the weekends too. While it can feel luxurious to relax in bed on the weekends far beyond your usual wake time, this can throw off your sleep routine. You will notice it will be harder to feel sleepy at night. My advice is to try to keep the weekend variability in your sleep schedule to within an hour for both your bedtime and wake time.
• “T”—Take it outside. When your wake time arrives, it’s important to get out of bed and seek outdoor light. As I mentioned, light is the strongest signal for our circadian rhythm, and bright light in the morning will anchor your sleep-wake cycle and will also improve your mood and attention.

As we approach September, I hope my “Sept” method will help you set up a regular sleep schedule. However, the goal here isn’t perfection. Rather, I want you to have the tools to get back into a regular sleep routine. Having a regular sleep schedule will also help you stay as healthy as possible. But life isn’t perfect. Some nights I must stay up due to a sick child, a work deadline, or an ailing family member. And that’s OK. The goal is progress over perfection and knowledge over rigidity. I hope this information and the above tools will help you get back to sleep when the time is right.