The importance of sleep regularity: a consensus statement of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability panel

Tracey L Sletten; Matthew D Weaver; Russell G Foster; David Gozal; Elizabeth B Klerman; Shantha M W Rajaratnam; Till Roenneberg; Joseph S Takahashi; Fred W Turek; Michael V Vitiello; Michael W Young; Charles A Czeisler

doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2023.07.016

The importance of sleep regularity: a consensus statement of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability panel

Sleep Health. 2023 Dec;9(6):801-820. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.07.016. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
² Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁴ Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, USA.
⁵ Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁶ Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁷ Institutes for Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine and Medical Psychology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁸ Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
⁹ Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
¹¹ Laboratory of Genetics, The Rockefeller University, New York City, New York, USA.
¹² Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: charles_czeisler@hms.harvard.edu.

PMID: 37684151
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.07.016

Abstract

Objective: To develop and present consensus findings of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability panel regarding the impact of sleep timing variability on health and performance.

Methods: The National Sleep Foundation assembled a panel of sleep and circadian experts to evaluate the scientific evidence and conduct a formal consensus and voting procedure. A systematic literature review was conducted using the NIH National Library of Medicine PubMed database, and panelists voted on the appropriateness of 3 questions using a modified Delphi RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method with 2 rounds of voting.

Results: The literature search and panel review identified 63 full text publications to inform consensus voting. Panelists achieved consensus on each question: (1) is daily regularity in sleep timing important for (a) health or (b) performance? and (2) when sleep is of insufficient duration during the week (or work days), is catch-up sleep on weekends (or non-work days) important for health? Based on the evidence currently available, panelists agreed to an affirmative response to all 3 questions.

Conclusions: Consistency of sleep onset and offset timing is important for health, safety, and performance. Nonetheless, when insufficient sleep is obtained during the week/work days, weekend/non-work day catch-up sleep may be beneficial.

Keywords: Catch-up sleep; Circadian misalignment; Health; Performance; Sleep patterns.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Consensus
Delphi Technique
Humans
Sleep Deprivation*
Sleep*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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