In this article:
- Benefits of having consistent schedules and routines include physiological and hormonal benefits like improved blood sugar control, reduced hunger, increased satiety, and better sleep.
- Other benefits can include better time management, reduced stress, and increased ability to listen to your body and respond appropriately. It’s also easier to add new, healthy habits when your routine is consistent.
- Evidence suggests that shifting calorie intake and exercise earlier in the day may have benefits, but it’s important to work with your body and lifestyle to develop routines that work for you.
- Keep reading for tips on establishing and sticking to a healthy schedule.
- Lark is available 24/7 to help you track food, activity, and sleep, and coach you to help you reach health and weight loss goals.
A consistent schedule can have physical and mental health benefits, and make it easier for you to reach your weight and health goals. Here are reasons why schedules are important, how to develop a schedule that works for your individual chronotype and lifestyle, and how to stick to a schedule once you’ve created it.
What Is a Routine or Schedule?
A routine is a set of actions or activities that you do regularly, often in the same order or at the same time of day. It can include core health behaviors like meals and snacks, times that you exercise, when you go to bed and wake up, and taking any medications you may be on.
Your routine can also include actions that support these core behaviors. Here are some examples.
- Grocery shopping on certain days and times each week
- Preparing food at regular times
- Managing stress with nightly journaling or creating “to-do” lists, starting the day with yoga or meditation, or phoning friends most days
- Weighing, logging meals, and tracking physical activity at certain times of the day
A routine can include anything else you do regularly, such as socializing, running regular errands, commuting daily or on certain days, caregiving, and working.
Benefits of Schedules
Following a consistent routine has potential physical and mental health benefits. It can also help you get more done and stay on track with your weight and health goals.
Physiological Benefits of Schedules
Physiological benefits can be related to your circadian rhythm and the fact that hormones do better on a schedule. Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock. Your body naturally follows a roughly 24-hour cycle. It helps regulate hormones that do things like make you feel tired at night, awake during the day, and hungry at meal times.
Being on a consistent schedule supports your circadian rhythm and helps hormones work their best. Here are examples of hormones and their effects when you’re on a consistent schedule versus not.
Digestion and Schedules
If you’ve ever been on jet lag or been off a regular schedule, you’ve probably noticed that it can interfere with your digestive system. Staying on a consistent schedule can help support healthier digestion in the following ways.
- Increased regularity with reduced constipation, bloating, and diarrhea
- Decreased transit time after eating, which means your body excretes waste more quickly, and you’re less likely to feel weighed down
- Increased gut microbiome biodiversity, or a wider variety of healthy bacteria living in your gut. This is linked to a lower chance of obesity and better immune function
To support digestive health, remember to hydrate, be active, and eat high-fiber foods like vegetables, beans, fruit, whole grains, and nuts.
Better Time Management on a Schedule
Better time management is another benefit of following a schedule. Time is like money! They are both limited, precious resources.
Stress Reduction and Consistent Routines
Another benefit of scheduling is that it can reduce stress. Here are some reasons why.
- Cortisol is one of the hormones whose levels are more normal when you’re on a schedule. Cortisol levels tend to lower when you follow consistent sleep and eating patterns
- Better physical and mental recovery due to planning sufficient downtime. This can include sleep as well as downtime during the day, whether for you that means socializing with friends or spending time alone to relax
- Greater sense of control over your life and decisions, since you’re making deliberate choices about where to spend your time each day
- Greater sense of pride from having more accomplishments due to budgeting your time and prioritizing what’s important to you
- Less decision fatigue since scheduling means you make decisions ahead of time
Better Communication with Your Body
When you’re on a schedule, it’s easier to listen to your body and understand what it’s saying. That’s because you have more information.
For example, if you’re craving pizza, is it because your body needs pizza? That might be what you decide if you’re not on a consistent schedule. But what if you normally follow a schedule and you’re craving pizza?
- It’s possible that you’re short on sleep, so your ghrelin (hunger hormone) is higher, even though you don’t need more calories. In that case, it may be more appropriate to eat some vegetables to satisfy hunger
- It’s possible that your blood sugar is low because you had a high-sugar breakfast when you normally have a high-protein, high-fiber breakfast, so you’re craving high-carb, high-fat, high-sodium foods like pizza. It may be more appropriate to feed your body some protein and fiber, like a hard-boiled egg and an apple, or peanut butter and some carrot sticks
- It’s possible that you’re hungrier than usual because you skipped a meal, in which case it makes most sense to eat a healthy meal like a salad with skinless chicken
The best response to your pizza craving depends on information that you can gather more easily when you’re on a schedule.
Healthy Behavior Changes Are Easier on a Schedule
Another benefit of following a schedule is that it’s easier to establish new habits when you’re trying to make healthy lifestyle changes. When your days are consistent and predictable, you’re probably not putting as much effort into daily tasks and routine behaviors like preparing meals, going to bed on time, and going grocery shopping, for example.
The result is that it’s easier to make healthy changes. For example, let’s say you wanted to add 10 minutes of walking most days. It’s simple to look at a daily schedule and pick a time when you can do those extra minutes of walking. But if your routine isn’t consistent, it can be tricky to decide when to add those extra minutes each day.
“Earlier” Can Be “Better” and Individual
What’s the best schedule to follow? Some research points to the benefits of making your schedule earlier. For example, people who eat a larger breakfast compared to late-night snacks tend to have lower body weights and improved blood sugar control. A research study found that shifting 100 calories from later at night to before noon led to improved metabolism.
It’s important to remember that the best schedule is the one that works for you.
Consider Chronotype While Making a Schedule
Your chronotype is your body’s natural tendency to go to bed and wake up early, medium, or late.
- Most people are intermediate “doves,” who sleep around 11:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.
- Early morning “larks” have an advanced sleep phase with sleep around 8:00 p.m.-4:00 a.m.
- “Night owls” have a delayed sleep phase, preferring to sleep 3-4:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m..
Whenever possible, consider your chronotype when making a schedule. For example, if you have trouble getting up early but have more energy in the evening, plan to work out later in the day instead of getting up earlier than is comfortable for you.
Consider Lifestyle Factors When Creating a Schedule
Your schedule needs to be realistic for any lifestyle factors like these:
- Night shift work
- Changing schedules
- Working split shifts
- Intermittent fasting
- Not a morning person (Can’t exercise early!)
- Sales calls, business dinners
- Inclement weather (Can’t go outside for natural daylight)
- Lack of predictability (e.g., Family members, freelance work)
Often, you don’t have a choice with certain lifestyle factors and obligations, so it’s best to accept them and work around them.
Prioritize Sleep Regardless of Chronotype or Lifestyle Factors
Getting sufficient, high-quality sleep is crucial for optimal health. Make it a priority no matter what kind of chronotype or lifestyle factors you have. Here are some tips for better sleep.
- Avoid caffeine for 6 hours before bedtime
- Exercise earlier in the day
- Go outside during daylight hours
- Take naps or sleep in if needed
- Have low-sugar meals, especially in the morning and near bedtime
- Reduce screen time within an hour of bedtime
Creating a Schedule: Start with One Anchor
To create a schedule from inconsistent days, try identifying one “anchor” you can start with. An anchor can be something that’s consistent in your days. It’s something you do most days at similar times.
Here are some examples of anchors.
- Waking up for work
- Dropping off or picking up the kids at a certain time
- An assigned lunch or break time at work
- A consistent bedtime
Setting the time for one event helps the rest fall into place. For example, once you have a wake-up time, you can count back the number of hours you need for sleep, and set a bedtime. Your bedtime routine may start 30-60 minutes before that. Dinner may be about 3 hours before bedtime. Breakfast may be an hour after you wake up, and lunch may be halfway between breakfast and dinner. A walk may come right before breakfast. In this example, you now have a good portion of your day on a schedule!
Different Schedules on Different Days
Many people need two or more sets of schedules for different types of days, such as weekends and weekdays, or days with different shifts.
Here’s an example.
Let Your Schedule Empower You, Not Trap You!
Some people feel comforted by schedules, while others feel trapped. If your schedule makes you feel bored or stifled, try a different approach. Here are some ideas.
Flexibility If Your Routine Is Disrupted
It can be stressful to have something get in the way of your plans, but remember that “better” is better than giving up! Here are some examples.
How Lark Can Help
Creating a schedule or routine can make smart choices easier, so you can make more progress towards your goals. Lark can help you make small changes to improve heart health, lose weight, and manage or prevent chronic conditions. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications.
Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!
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