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Early bird vs. night owl — is one really healthier than the other? Here's what research shows.
Korin Miller, 10/07/23
When it comes to preferred sleep schedules, people are usually placed into one of two groups — early birds or night owls — and each has its own reputation. Society has repeatedly celebrated and praised people who like to get up early, while night owls are often portrayed as slackers.
But despite those widely held beliefs, is it actually bad to be a night owl, or do people who stay up late just have an undeserved reputation? Here's what the research says about both sleep groups, plus what doctors think.
What does the research say?
There is a surprisingly large body of research that supports the health benefits of getting up early and going to bed at a decent time.
One 2020 cohort study of more than 5,000 people published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports had people who were early birds and night owls wear activity trackers on their wrists for two weeks. The researchers found that early birds had up to 60 to 90 minutes more activity during the day than their night owl counterparts. (Worth noting: Being physically active is linked to a lowered risk of developing a slew of serious health conditions, including heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.)
A study published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2021 linked early birds with a lowered risk of developing depression. For the study, researchers analyzed two genetic databases of more than 800,000 adults, along with data on major depression diagnoses and when people typically went to sleep and woke up. The researchers found that people who were early birds had a 23% lower risk of developing major depression for every hour earlier they reached their midpoint of sleep (that is, the middle of their sleep cycle).
Another study, this one published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in September, linked being a night owl to having a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study analyzed data from 63,676 nurses from the ages of 45 to 62 and found that those who preferred to stay up late were 54% more likely to have unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as smoking, not sleeping enough, not exercising and a poor diet. The researchers also discovered that night owls were 19% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Being an early bird is even linked to having a longer life. A Chronobiology International study published earlier this year followed nearly 24,000 twins from 1981 to 2018 and asked them about their sleep habits. The researchers also looked at death records and, after adjusting for factors like alcohol use, smoking, body mass and sleep duration, found that night people had a 9% greater risk of early death than their morning counterparts.
But it's not all bad news for night owls: Older research has found that people who stay up late are more likely to be creative than those who have earlier bedtimes. Night owls are also more likely to be mentally alert and have faster response times before bed than early birds, according to another study.
What dictates if you're an early bird or night owl?
The sleep schedule you prefer can be caused by a mix of factors, Dr. Beth Malow, director of the Sleep Disorders Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. "It's definitely biological but can also be related to habits, such as when a spouse prefers to go to bed," she says.
Dr. W. Christopher Winter, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast, tells Yahoo Life, "Jobs and family life also tend to influence bedtimes."
Doctors say night owls are unfairly subjected to judgment from society. "I'm hesitant to say that one is better than the other," Winter says. "I stop short of vilifying night owls." In fact, Winter says he prefers to stay up late, and it's important for society that some other people are the same way.
"I'm glad there are night owls out there," he says. "If you're in a car wreck at 1 a.m., you want people at the hospital who are energetic and problem-solving. If you're on a red-eye flight, you want the pilot to be alert. Our 24-hour culture has designed places for night owls."
Should you try to adjust your sleep schedule?
Despite all the research to support early birds, doctors say what's more important is to ensure you get the recommended seven or more hours of sleep a night. "If your schedule allows it, it’s often easier to just stick with what you are comfortable with than to try to change it," Malow says.
Winter agrees. "If you're killing yourself trying to wake up at 7 a.m. and you have the capacity to get up at 9 a.m. instead, there's no problem with that as long as you're exercising and eating well," he says. "Just stay consistent, and you'll be fine."
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