Like staying up late? You’re putting yourself at risk for heart problems
A study of more than 320,000 people found that night owls were more likely to engage in behaviors that increase the risk of heart disease, such as smoking and poor sleep.
Staying up late to watch a favorite TV show or going out with friends can be one of life’s simple pleasures. But new research shows that being a habitual night owl — especially if you’re a woman — could be putting your heart at risk.
In a study of more than 320,000 adults, researchers found that participants who described themselves as “definitely an ‘evening’ person” had about a 16 percent higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke than those who did not report a strong bedtime preference.
The study was partially funded by the American Heart Association (AHA) published on wednesday in Journal of the American Heart Association.
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The findings match current AHA guidance according to which people should aim to get a good night’s sleep reduce risk Of heart disease. But it wasn’t clear how “circadian misalignment” — the mismatch between the body’s internal clock and the times people actually sleep and wake up — might affect heart health.
Researchers say this kind of mismatch can distort how our brains respond to reward signals and lead people to engage in risky behavior. “Evening people may be more likely to have behaviors that can affect heart health, such as poor diet quality, smoking, and inadequate or irregular sleep,” said Sina Kienersi, a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and co-author of the paper. statement.
Kienersi and her colleagues found that night owls were more likely to get poor scores on the AHA’s “Life Essential 8” questionnaire, which looks at a series of eight health and lifestyle metrics, including exercise, smoking, blood pressure and blood sugar. According to the findings, “evening people” got lower scores because they were more likely to smoke (or live with smokers) and get inadequate sleep.
If you’re a night owl, take courage: Kristen Knutson, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, said in the same statement that the research points to steps you can take to avoid additional cardiovascular risks. “These findings suggest that the higher heart disease risk in evening types is partly due to modifiable behaviors such as smoking and sleep,” she said.
“Evening types are not inherently less healthy, but they face challenges that make it especially important for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Knutson said.
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