A consistent daily routine may offer meaningful benefits for both physical and mental health, according to new research from the University of Missouri. The study found that older adults who followed regular daily schedules reported less physical pain and fewer symptoms of depression, including those who experienced insomnia.
The findings suggest that everyday patterns, such as waking, eating, working, socializing, and going to bed at similar times, may support better overall well-being.
Insomnia, Pain, and Depression
About half of adults age 60 and older experience symptoms of insomnia, according to the National Council on Aging. To examine how sleep difficulties relate to health and quality of life, Eunjin Tracy, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development, studied survey responses from 67 older adults. Of those participants, 37 had insomnia.
As researchers expected, the adults with insomnia generally reported more pain and stronger symptoms of depression. However, Tracy also identified an important pattern across the group. Participants who maintained regular daily routines tended to experience less pain and depression, regardless of how well they slept.
"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 Daily Routines Support the Body Clock
Regular activities provide signals that help regulate the circadian rhythm, the body's internal 24-hour timing system. This biological clock plays a major role in sleep, mood, and many other processes 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.
Changes in sleep times, meals, or other daily activities can disrupt that internal timing system. Even relatively small differences between weekday and weekend schedules may create what researchers often call social jet lag.
Tracy said following a similar routine throughout the entire week may reduce those disruptions and help the body remain more synchronized.
The Health Effects of Social Jet Lag
"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 results indicate that maintaining predictable daily rhythms could be a simple way to support health, particularly for older adults dealing with insomnia. Rather than looking only at nighttime sleep, Tracy argues that researchers should consider how activities across the full day influence the body's internal clock 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.