How Social Jet Lag Impacts Your Health
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that more than one third of Americans are not getting the recommended seven hours of sleep on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, Forbush’s study found that individuals who experienced just one hour of social jet lag each week were 22 percent more likely to rate their health as good, rather than excellent, and 28 percent more likely to rate it as fair or poor.
“Physicians often tell people to think about their diet and exercise, but I think this offers an additional preventative strategy,” says Forbush, whose results were presented at the SLEEP meeting in Boston. “It’s not just about getting enough sleep, but getting regular sleep: ideally you want to be going to bed and waking up at the same time every day of the week.”
Of course, this isn’t the first study to link social jet lag and lackluster health. “There are studies indicating that chronotype – a person’s biological inclination towards morning or evening preference – may influence risk of cardiovascular disease, and evening types may be more at risk,” Tami Martino, of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada told
The study argues that it’s not our weekend tendencies that need to be tweaked, but our habits. For example, late sleepers should arrange their work schedules to accommodate their late-rising biological needs.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, “recommend that adults aged 18–60 years sleep at least 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and well-being. Sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress.”