By the time you hit your 40s, your body starts sending you little reminders that things are changing. Hormones shift, energy dips, and suddenly, the small choices you make every day feel like they matter a lot more for the long run.
The tricky bit? There’s health advice everywhere – from new diets to fitness trends – and it can be hard to know what’s genuinely worth your effort.
But GPs say the secret to healthier ageing isn’t about fancy tech or strict routines. It often comes down to simple daily habits we tend to overlook.
We asked a GP which everyday habit midlife adults most often overlook – and why it matters more than you might realise.
The most overlooked pillar of health
According to Dr Reem Hasan, chief medical officer at Vista Health and an NHS GP, if we want to make a big difference to our health, we should be prioritising getting enough good-quality sleep.
Research from Vista Health found the average midlife adult gets just 6.5 hours of sleep a night – well below the recommended seven to nine.
A solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night is key to staying healthy as we age, advise experts. (Getty Images)
“Sleep remains pretty undervalued, and it’s really critical in terms of when we think about brain health, cognitive protection, when we’re looking at the rising rates of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr Hasan tells Yahoo UK.
“There’s a lot of focus on diet and movement [when it comes to health] and sleep sort of falls off of it. And it’s not just about sleep quantity, it’s the sleep hygiene [having both a bedroom environment and daily routines that promote consistent, uninterrupted sleep] that I think is often really overlooked, and this can transform long-term health outcomes.”
Sleep, she explains, is far more than rest. “Essentially, it acts as the brain’s waste clearance mechanism – it’s really restorative. And we know that when we’re thinking about brain health, adults who get less than six hours a night have a 30% higher dementia risk compared to those getting seven to eight hours.”
Read more: If you told me to try sleep hygiene, I would have laughed. But it actually worked for me (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
What poor sleep does to the body
It’s not just the brain that pays the price. Consistently poor sleep has ripple effects across multiple systems in the body.
“Poor quality of sleep can increase your cardiovascular disease risk by 48% and your stroke risk by 15%,” says Dr Hasan. “And that is massive.”
Metabolic health takes a hit, too. “When our sleep is disrupted… that can impair glucose metabolism. So that will increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by 28%,” she adds.
Sleep also helps regulate immune function. “Quality sleep will enhance what we call the natural killer cells, which is really crucial for cancer surveillance, and sleep deprivation can also reduce medication vaccine effectiveness as well.”
Bad sleep will impact your health in multiple ways. (Getty Images)
How to improve your sleep hygiene
So, what can you do if your sleep is patchy? The key, Dr Hasan says, is to focus on routine and simple, sustainable habits rather than overhauling everything at once.
Stick to a routine
The first step is supporting your circadian rhythm – your body’s internal clock. That means aiming to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day, including weekends. “Sleeping in, having a lie-in for hours at the weekend, is really unhelpful,” Dr Hasan explains. “You want to get up within an hour of your normal sleep time.
“That strengthens the circadian rhythm without actually needing more sleep, because you’ve optimised that quality of it, and you can feel the impact of it within a couple of weeks.”
Create a calm bedroom environment
A cool, dark and quiet bedroom makes it easier to fall – and stay – asleep. The Sleep Charity recommends blackout blinds or an eye mask if light is an issue, and earplugs if you’re sensitive to noise.
Dim or avoid screens before bed
Electronic devices emit blue light, which suppresses melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep. The NHS recommends switching off TVs, smartphones, and tablets at least an hour before bed.
Avoid heavy meals late at night
Eating a big meal close to bedtime can make it harder for your body to fully relax. NHS advice suggests leaving at least two to three hours between eating and going to bed.
Get morning natural light
Exposure to daylight early in the day helps reset your internal clock and strengthen your circadian rhythm, according to The Sleep Charity.
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