Being A ‘Night Person’ Could Be Bad For Your Heart
If you consider yourself more of a night owl, you may want to ensure you’re taking good care of your heart health. A large study has recently found that people who are more active late at night have poorer overall heart health when compared to the average person who goes to bed at a reasonable hour/gets the recommended amount of sleep every night.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that those who tend to stay up late should be immediately frightened. Research fellow Sina Kianersi of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who led the study, said that “it’s not like night owls are doomed.”
“The challenge is the mismatch between your internal clock and typical daily schedules that make it harder to follow heart-healthy behaviors.”
Kianersi actually considers himself to be “sort of a night owl,” according to AP, and described how he feels a “boost in [his] analytical thinking” after about 7 or 8 at night.
Heart health is extremely important, and heart disease alone is the leading cause of death in the US. The American Heart Association has a list of eight key factors that every individual should adopt for having and maintaining a healthy heart. These factors include getting enough sleep and having a healthy diet.
When it comes to individuals who are considered night owls specifically, the impact on the heart has more so to do with the internal body’s circadian rhythm, “our master biological clock.”
That clock follows a roughly 24-hour schedule that regulates when we’re sleepy, and also wide awake, while keeping our organ systems in sync. This regulation impacts our heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones, and metabolism.
“Everybody’s circadian rhythm is a little different. Prior research had suggested night owls might have more health problems, as well as risk factors like higher rates of smoking and less physical activity than people with more typical bedtimes,” Kianersi said to AP.
Kianersi’s team tracked over 300,000 middle-age and older adults in the UK Biobank, which is a large health database that includes information regarding individual’s sleep-wake preferences.
They found that around 8% of those people classified themselves as night owls, specifically meaning they’re more active both physically and mentally in the late afternoon or evening and are up past most people’s bedtime. Around 25% were early-birds and were more productive in the daylight hours and went to bed earlier.
Over the course of 14 years, the night owls had a 16% higher risk of a first heart attack or stroke compared to the average population, the team found.
The researchers reported their findings this week in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The report cited that especially in women night owls, there is an overall worse cardiovascular health based on meeting the heart association’s eight key factors.
“It comes down to the problem of a night owl trying to live in a morning person’s world. They’re getting up early for work because that’s when their job starts but it may not align with their internal rhythm,” said Kristen Knutson of Northwestern University.
Knutson also stated that this impacts more than just sleep. One’s metabolism fluctuates throughout the day as the body produces insulin to turn food into energy, meaning it may be harder for a night owl to handle a high-calorie breakfast eaten earlier in the day.
Kianersi said that even if you can’t get the ideal of at least seven hours of sleep a night, sticking to a regular bedtime and wake up time can help your body.
“Focus on the basics, not perfection.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.