Sleep regularity matters most

Instead of focusing on total hours slept, clinicians and the public should track sleep timing consistency (bedtime/wake‑time variability) and circadian alignment as primary sleep metrics, because these predict daytime functioning and long‑term health more reliably. That shift changes what employers, schools and sleep‑tech products ought to measure and incentivize. — If adopted, this reframing would redirect health guidance, workplace/school scheduling debates, and consumer sleep‑tracker design toward regularity and timing, with implications for shift work, school start times, and employer wellness programs.