Have you ever wondered if staying up late could be harmful? Some of us love to stay awake till late in the night, while others prefer waking up early.
We call the late-night lovers ‘night owls’ and the early risers ‘early birds’. A new research study tells us that being a night owl may not be as bad as we thought.
Understanding the Sleep Patterns
We all have a ‘body clock’ that tells us when to sleep or wake up. This is known as our ‘chronotype’. Some of us naturally prefer to sleep late and wake up late.
These are the ‘night owls’. Others like to sleep early and wake up early. They’re the ‘early birds’.
What Does the Study Say?
A team of scientists in Finland did a big study to learn more about this. They followed almost 23,000 people for more than 37 years!
These people were twins, which helped the scientists compare people with similar genes.
At the start, each person was asked if they were a ‘morning person’ or an ‘evening person’. The scientists then tracked them until 2018 to see if they had passed away.
Some Surprising Findings
The study found out that night owls had a slightly higher risk of dying compared to early birds. But, it wasn’t because they stayed up late.
The main reason was that the night owls in the study were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol. These habits, not their sleep patterns, were what increased their risk.
What About Sleep Duration?
Sleep duration is important too. People who identified themselves as ‘definite’ evening types were less likely to sleep for 8 hours.
Not getting enough sleep could make you feel tired and affect your health.
The Bigger Picture
The scientists also compared their findings with other studies. In 2018, a UK study also found a small increase in risk of death for night owls. But this study didn’t look at smoking or drinking habits.
The Finnish study was able to look at these factors, which gave a clearer picture.
The scientists said that their participants were similar to the general population, which helps us understand how these findings relate to all of us.
What Does This Mean for Us?
So, what can we learn from this? If you’re a night owl, it doesn’t mean you’re at a higher risk of health problems.
It’s more important to have healthy habits like not smoking, not drinking too much alcohol, and getting enough sleep.
And remember, whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, make sure you take good care of your health!
If you care about wellness, please read studies about how many alcohol drinks is too many, and low-carb diet that could help reverse brain aging.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about vitamin K that could help cut heart disease risk by a third, and results showing this drug may prevent respiratory and heart damage in COVID-19.
The study was published in Chronobiology International.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
