Following a consistent daily routine may help improve physical and mental health in older adults, according to research from the University of Missouri. The study found that older adults with regular schedules reported less physical pain and fewer symptoms of depression, including participants who experienced insomnia.
Maintaining predictable times for waking, eating, working, socializing, and going to bed may support better sleep, mood, and overall well-being.
Daily Routines May Ease Insomnia, Pain, and Depression
About half of adults age 60 and older experience symptoms of insomnia, according to the National Council on Aging. To explore the connection between sleep problems, pain, and quality of life, Eunjin Tracy, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development, analyzed survey responses from 67 older adults. Among the participants, 37 reported having insomnia.
As expected, older adults with insomnia generally reported more physical pain and stronger symptoms of depression. However, Tracy identified a significant pattern across the study group: Participants who followed consistent daily routines tended to report lower levels of pain and depression, regardless of their sleep quality.
“Regardless of sleep quality, those who reported having a regular daily routine had lower levels of physical pain and less depression compared to those without a daily routine,” Tracy said. “If we are consistent with when we wake up, eat, work or study, interact with others and go to bed, those time cues help synchronize our internal body clocks. Over the long term, that seems to be linked with improved health outcomes.”
How a Consistent Routine Supports the Body Clock
Regular daily activities provide signals that help regulate the circadian rhythm, the body’s internal 24-hour timing system. This biological clock influences sleep, mood, energy levels, and many other functions throughout the body.
“When we regulate our circadian rhythm well, our bodies function well, but if it gets too distracted, our bodies don’t function as well,” Tracy said.
Frequent changes in sleep times, meal schedules, and other daily activities may disrupt the body’s internal timing system. Even small differences between weekday and weekend schedules can contribute to social jet lag, a mismatch between a person’s biological clock and their daily schedule.
Tracy said following a similar schedule throughout the week may reduce these disruptions and help keep the circadian rhythm synchronized.
Social Jet Lag and Long-Term Health
“As someone who wakes up and goes to bed at the same time every day, I think a daily routine can be helpful for people of all ages across their lifespan,” Tracy said. “There is growing awareness about the concept of social jet lag — waking up and going to bed at different times on weekends compared to weekdays — and the disruptions it causes to our circadian rhythm, so hopefully this research helps more people consider the health benefits of a daily routine. Since one-third of our lives will be spent sleeping, I think health and well-being research should be looked at holistically from a 24-hour perspective and not just focus on when we are awake.”
The findings suggest that maintaining predictable daily rhythms may be a simple way to support physical and emotional health, especially among older adults with insomnia. Instead of focusing only on nighttime sleep, researchers say it is important to consider how activities throughout the entire day affect the body’s internal clock, pain levels, mood, and overall well-being.
The study, “Behavioral-social rhythms and insomnia symptoms: associations with pain, body mass index, and depressive symptoms among older adults,” was published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com