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In last week’s blog post we discussed the idea of morning larks and night owls, or what is more traditionally called chronotypes. In short, we all have a natural preference for when we wake up and fall asleep. Some people will naturally, if left to their own natural rhythms, wake up earlier in the morning and go to bed earlier in the evening while others will wake up later in the morning and go to bed later in the evening.
What Are Chronotypes? Understanding Morning Larks and Night Owls
Due to this natural shift in wake and sleep cycles individuals will naturally do things at certain times. A morning lark may exercise between 5-6 AM and then have breakfast at 8 AM, work between 9AM-5PM, have dinner at 6PM and then head to bed around 8-9PM. A night owl might have breakfast at 11AM, work between 12PM-8PM, workout at 8:30PM, have dinner at 10 PM and head to bed around 2-3AM.
This is represented in the following table.
|
Activity |
Morning Lark |
Night Owl |
|---|---|---|
|
Wakeup |
4-5 AM |
10 AM |
|
Exercise |
5-6 AM |
8:30-9:30 PM |
|
Breakfast |
8 AM |
11 AM |
|
Work |
9 AM-5PM |
12-8 PM |
|
Dinner |
6 PM |
10 PM |
|
Bed |
8-9 PM |
2-3 AM |
Both chronotypes have the same circadian clock, i.e. the same physiological processes that take place throughout the day, but they are happening at different times throughout the day.
All things equal, a morning lark and a night owl should have the same health. However that is not what we see in the research.
Research Findings: Health Outcomes for Night Owls vs. Morning Larks
One meta-analysis (Dinu, 2022) which looked at 39 different studies covering chronotypes and health outcomes found that for nearly every health metric and outcome night owls fared far worse than morning larks. The table below from the study sums things up nicely.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831322005415?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831322005415?via%3Dihub
These charts show that night owls intake more calories, have higher body weight, BMI, body fat %, higher blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and lower HDL cholesterol than morning larks. And when it comes to health outcomes, night owls were more likely to have diabetes, cancer, and depression.
If you take these results at face value it looks like being a night owl is certainly not so good for your health.
However we need to consider a couple of things when interpreting these results.
Interpreting the Data: Factors to Consider When Comparing Chronotypes
First we need to consider how researchers determined who is a morning lark and who is a night owl. Chronotype was determined using either the MEQ or MCQT which we talked about in last week’s blog post. While these questionnaires have generally been proven to be accurate they are not 100% accurate and this means there will be some people in these studies who think they are one chronotype but are actually the opposite.
There are also confounders which were not corrected for. One of the biggest is the association between morning larks and the fact they tend to be more persistent, cooperative, conscientious, proactive, and less likely to procrastinate than night owls (Circadian Preference Is Associated With Emotional and Affective Temperaments, 2012) (Antúnez, 2020).
Why does that matter?
Many of those traits could translate into adopting health behaviors that lend themselves to better health outcomes and health markers. If you only looked at night owls who also have the same personality traits the results might look very different.
There are also going to be several things working against night owls from the point of view of how our society is designed. Society tends to operate and favors morning larks.
Societal Challenges for Night Owls: How Modern Schedules Impact Health
Most businesses are operating during the hours of around 8AM-8PM. That means more people need to report to work between those hours. The first thing this does is affect a night owls ideal sleep schedule resulting in lower sleep quality and less sleep overall. As we have discussed in prior blog posts this can result in many of the negative health effects mentioned above.
Physiological Impacts of Misaligned Schedules on Night Owls
The way society operates will also impact the physiological processes in night owls. For example, if a night owl is forced to get up early and then consumes a breakfast that has a lot of carbohydrates in it (like most people do) their bodies physiology will not be primed to handle those carbohydrates which will result in poorer blood sugar control than if they were able to naturally wake up and eat the same breakfast.
And that is just one physiological process, there are a whole lot more that will be negatively impacted by being forced to do things outside of their normal circadian rhythms.
Now consider the schedule we outlined in the example of the beginning of the post, what type of businesses are open in the middle of the night when a night owl is spending half of their time awake? Generally we see convenience stores or fast food restaurants available which almost always don’t have great options for food. The poor food options combined with the dysregulated sleep will lead to poor food choices.
There certainly won’t be any gyms open in the middle of the night to workout. It also might not be safe to be outside at night to go for a walk, bike ride, run, trail walk. This means night owls will be more likely to be sedentary. That will again negatively impact health.
As you can see I do not think we can say that being a night owl is worse for your health. Instead the night owl faces a lot of sociological issues that impacts their physiology negatively and results in negative health outcomes. I suspect if we flipped the way society operated and put morning larks at a similar disadvantage we would see the same impacts on health. The question is what can we do about it?
Practical Health Tips for Night Owls in a Morning-Centric World
If you find yourself to be more of a night owl I can think of a few things you could do that might help your health.
Prioritizing Sleep Quality and Consistency for Night Owls
First I think you need to prioritize sleep. Meaning get the best quality and as much sleep as you possibly can within the schedule you need to adhere to and keep it consistent throughout the week. In other words don’t fall back to your night owl tendencies on the weekend and then shift back to a different sleep schedule Monday through Friday. I would also avoid alcohol and pay careful attention to your caffeine intake and timing of your caffeine intake. These two commonly consumed compounds drastically affect sleep and the timing of this consumption for someone who is a night owl may be even more problematic.
I have several videos on ways you can improve and optimize your sleep and they can help night owls dial in their own sleep so it can be as good as possible.
Creating a Healthy Night Owl Lifestyle: Diet and Exercise Strategies
Second, if you are going to be awake late at night when businesses are not open I think you would benefit from having your own healthy food options around and also have some way of doing physical activity at home. Investing in a set of exercise bands and a suspension trainer (aka TRX) will allow you to get in some amazing workouts at minimal cost. Here are some exercises you can do with bands and a suspension trainer. And investing in a walking pad for a few hundred dollars would allow you to safely go for a walk again at minimal cost.
If you are going to have to eat meals outside of your preferred awake cycle be aware you may not handle the carbohydrates in those meals very well so opting for lower carb meals in those situations will certainly help from a blood sugar perspective.
Conclusion: Overcoming Chronotype Challenges for Better Health
I don’t think night owls are destined for poor health, just like I don’t think shift workers are destined for poor health. Just realize that the deck is stacked against you and you might need to pay extra close attention to your meals, your sleep, and your movement and exercise behaviors in order to overcome the odds. Hopefully the practical advice in this blog post will help and as always if you would like more practical health advice to help you reach your health goals be sure to sign up for my newsletter by entering your email address in the form below.