Last updated: October 2026
There’s no single best time to sleep for everyone. For most UK adults, going to bed between about 10pm and 11pm and waking at the same time each day gives the 7 to 9 hours the NHS recommends. Keeping that schedule steady matters more than the exact hour, and your chronotype can shift your ideal window.
Below: what the research says about 10pm to 11pm, why a regular schedule beats a perfect bedtime, a bedtime chart by wake-up time, and the best time to eat and exercise for better sleep.
What is the best time to sleep?
The best evidence for a specific clock time comes from a UK Biobank study of more than 100,000 adults who wore a wrist activity tracker for a week. Researchers then followed them for an average of 5.7 years and looked at who developed heart and circulatory disease.
People who fell asleep between 10pm and 10.59pm had the lowest rate of cardiovascular disease. Compared with them, the risk was:
| Time of falling asleep | Cardiovascular risk compared with 10pm to 10.59pm |
|---|---|
| Before 10pm | 24% higher |
| 10pm to 10.59pm | Lowest (the comparison group) |
| 11pm to 11.59pm | 12% higher |
| Midnight or later | 25% higher |
Two honest caveats. First, this was an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that a 10pm bedtime protects your heart. People who go to bed very early or very late may differ in health, work and lifestyle in ways a study can’t fully account for. Second, it measured when people actually fell asleep, not when they got into bed. The link was also stronger in women than in men.
So treat 10pm to 11pm as a sensible target for most adults, not a rule. If you’re asleep by 11.30pm, wake at a steady time and feel fine during the day, you don’t need to overhaul anything. For the bigger picture of how your body clock sets these times, see our guide to the circadian rhythm.
Why consistency beats the perfect bedtime
Researchers increasingly think regular timing matters as much as, or more than, the hour on the clock. Another UK Biobank study tracked the sleep of about 61,000 adults and scored how consistent their sleep and wake times were from day to day. People with the most regular patterns had a 20% to 48% lower risk of dying during the follow-up period than the least regular group, and regularity predicted risk better than how long people slept. Again, this is an association rather than proof of cause.
A smaller study of 61 university students found that irregular sleepers had a body clock running about two and a half hours later than regular sleepers, judged by when their melatonin rose in the evening. They also got lower grades.
That fits NHS advice for poor sleep, which puts waking up and getting out of bed at the same time every day at the top of its list. In practice:
- Fix your wake time first, weekends included, within about an hour. Your bedtime will follow.
- Don’t sleep in after a bad night. The NHS advises sticking to your regular hours, and big weekend lie-ins push your body clock later. See sleep debt.
- Watch out for oversleeping, which can leave you groggy and push your body clock later. See oversleeping.
Best time to sleep and wake up: bedtime chart
Start from the time you need to get up and count back. Sleep runs in cycles of roughly 90 minutes, so 5 cycles is about 7.5 hours and 6 cycles about 9 hours. These bedtimes include about 15 minutes to fall asleep.
| If you wake at | Bed for 9 hours | Bed for 8 hours | Bed for 7.5 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5am | 7.45pm | 8.45pm | 9.15pm |
| 5.30am | 8.15pm | 9.15pm | 9.45pm |
| 6am | 8.45pm | 9.45pm | 10.15pm |
| 6.30am | 9.15pm | 10.15pm | 10.45pm |
| 7am | 9.45pm | 10.45pm | 11.15pm |
| 7.30am | 10.15pm | 11.15pm | 11.45pm |
| 8am | 10.45pm | 11.45pm | 12.15am |
For most people waking between 6am and 7.30am, that lands neatly in the 10pm to 11pm window. Cycle length varies from person to person, so use the chart as a starting point and adjust by 15 minutes either way until you wake up feeling clear. For more wake-up times, or to work forward from a bedtime, use our sleep calculator.
If you need to be up at 5am, a 9pm to 9.15pm bedtime gives you a full night. That’s hard to keep up if your body clock runs late, so read how to wake up early before setting the alarm.
Is sleep before midnight better?
The old saying that an hour before midnight is worth two after it isn’t quite right. Your body packs as much deep sleep as it can into the start of your sleep, whenever that starts, while REM periods get longer towards morning. So someone who falls asleep at midnight still gets their deep sleep first.
Where late nights do cause trouble is when an early alarm cuts them short, or when they push your body clock later so you miss morning daylight. Regularly falling asleep after midnight and waking for work at 7am means short nights, and that adds up. Read more in deep sleep.
Early bird or night owl?
Your chronotype is your natural tendency to feel sleepy earlier or later. It’s partly genetic and changes with age: teenagers tend to run late and most people drift earlier as they get older. A natural night owl who feels wide awake at 10pm may sleep better with an 11.30pm bedtime and a later alarm, if work allows.
The goal is the same for everyone: enough hours, at roughly the same time, with daylight soon after you wake. If your late body clock clashes with your job, our night owl guide has a 3-week plan to shift it.
Best time to eat dinner and exercise for better sleep
| Habit | Best timing | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner | Finish your main meal 2 to 3 hours before bed | The NHS advises against a big meal late at night. See eating before bed |
| Exercise | Earlier in the day, and not within about 4 hours of bed | The NHS advises regular exercise during the day, but not in the 4 hours before bed |
| Caffeine and alcohol | None in the 6 hours before bed | This is NHS advice for better sleep. See how long caffeine lasts |
| Naps | 10 to 20 minutes, before about 3pm | Late or long naps make it harder to sleep at night. See power naps |
| Screens | Off about an hour before bed | NHS Every Mind Matters suggests a calm, screen-free hour |
Then give yourself a wind-down. Our bedtime routine for adults sets out a simple 60-minute plan.
Best time to sleep for teenagers and students
Teenagers aren’t just being lazy. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust explains that in adolescence melatonin is released later at night, so bedtimes and wake times typically shift about 2 hours later. Most teens need about 8 to 10 hours, though it varies.
That makes an 11pm bedtime with a 7am alarm a common squeeze. The most useful habit is a steady sleep and wake time, including at weekends, with phones out of the bedroom. For university students the same applies: the irregular sleepers in the student study above had later body clocks and lower grades, so a regular schedule during exam season is worth more than late-night revision.
Best time to sleep if you work shifts
If you work nights or rotating shifts, there’s no 10pm option, so the principles change: protect one main block of sleep in a dark, quiet room, keep it at the same time on consecutive shifts, and use a short nap before a night shift. Our shift work sleep guide has a full night-shift plan.
How to move your bedtime earlier
If you currently fall asleep at 1am, jumping straight to 10.30pm rarely works. Shift in small steps instead:
- Move your alarm 15 to 30 minutes earlier every few days and keep it there, weekends included.
- Get outside within an hour of waking for 20 to 30 minutes of daylight.
- Dim lights and screens for the last hour of the evening.
- Only go to bed when you feel sleepy, as the NHS suggests. If you lie awake most nights, see insomnia.
The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October 2026, which hands you an easy hour to work with. See our clocks go back plan.
Some people add a supplement to their evening routine. Our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex combines magnesium bisglycinate and citrate with glycine, L-theanine, chamomile, passionflower, hops and oat straw, made as a berry-flavoured drink. Magnesium contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to the normal functioning of the nervous system. Read more in our guide to magnesium for sleep, or see the Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex.
Once you have picked your times, our guide to resetting your sleep schedule shows how to get there.
FAQs
What is the best time to sleep and wake up?
For most adults, falling asleep between about 10pm and 11pm and waking between 6am and 7.30am gives 7 to 9 hours. Keeping the same times every day matters more than hitting an exact hour.
Is 10pm a good time to go to bed?
Yes, for most adults. A large UK Biobank study found people who fell asleep between 10pm and 10.59pm had the lowest rate of heart disease, although it shows a link rather than proof.
Is it bad to go to bed after midnight?
Not in itself, if you still get 7 to 9 hours at regular times. It becomes a problem when an early alarm cuts your night short or your sleep times swing from day to day.
What time should I go to bed if I wake up at 6am?
Aim for about 9.45pm for 8 hours or 10.15pm for 7.5 hours, allowing roughly 15 minutes to fall asleep.
Is there a best time to sleep for weight loss?
No specific clock time has been shown to cause weight loss. Getting enough sleep matters more: a review of studies covering over 600,000 adults linked short sleep with a higher risk of obesity, though it couldn’t prove cause and effect.
What is the best time to sleep for students?
Whatever lets you get 7 to 9 hours at the same time every night, including weekends. Teenagers need about 8 to 10 hours and naturally run later, so a steady routine helps most.
Sources
- Nikbakhtian S, et al. Accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study. European Heart Journal: Digital Health, 2021.
- Windred DP, et al. Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: a prospective cohort study. Sleep, 2024.
- Phillips AJK, et al. Irregular sleep/wake patterns are associated with poorer academic performance and delayed circadian and sleep/wake timing. Scientific Reports, 2017.
- Cappuccio FP, et al. Meta-analysis of short sleep duration and obesity in children and adults. Sleep, 2008.
- NHS. Insomnia.
- NHS Every Mind Matters. How to fall asleep faster and sleep better.
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Why has it got harder to get to sleep?
- Cleveland Clinic. Sleep basics.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If poor sleep goes on for months or affects your daily life, speak to your GP. Evopure makes the Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex.
