Research Finds Being A "Night Owl" Has Some Undesirable Health Effects

By now, you've probably determined whether you're naturally a morning person or not.

In order to look at how people's sleep habits can influence their health, researchers divided participants into two "chronotype" groups: those who go to bed early, and those who go to bed late.

As the study authors note in their research, "'Chronotype' is a circadian classification identifying the preference of an individual to perform an activity or acknowledge alertness during different periods of the day."

The researchers looked at things like the participants' body mass, body composition, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic health, and the participants were also monitored for a week, to study their activity levels throughout the day.

Based on the findings, it would appear sleep and wake cycles are linked with our metabolic health.

Specifically, the night owls in this study had a reduced ability to use fat for energy, which can result in fat accumulation and, subsequently, increased risk for disease.

They were also more likely to be insulin resistant, with insulin resistance being strongly linked to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The early birds, on the other hand, were found to use more fat for energy while exercising and at rest, compared to the night owls. They were also typically more active and had better fitness levels than the night owls.

It would seem not all sleep schedules are created equal, especially in terms of how they affect our health.