While being an early bird doesn't protect you from experiencing a mental health problem, being a night owl is associated with an increased risk for mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. If you are feeling anxious or depressed, one thing to consider is sleep quality.
Waking up naturally means your body is in tune with your daily schedule. If you are a night owl, more than likely, you are at odds with the daily grind. And that can take its toll, leaving you more likely to become depressed and more likely to become anxious over time.
Because night owls get to sleep later, if they try to conform to earlier wake times, they are at risk for sleep deprivation and irregular sleep, both of which adversely impact mental health.
Studies have revealed night owls may take more risks and are more likely to skip breakfast and eat more later in the day. Night owls also have higher levels of visceral body fat in the abdominal region, a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
A greater proportion of night owls have been found to exhibit traits of extraversion, narcissism, Machiavellism, impulsivity, novelty-seeking, and risk-taking. Meanwhile, we tend to think of early birds in terms of being conscientious, disciplined, and emotionally stable.
Psychology Today reported that intelligent people are likely to be nocturnal beings, with those with a higher IQ going bed later on both weeknights and weekends.
Many adults with ADHD are self-described (and quite happy) “night owls.” As stimuli and distractions dim, creativity and productivity shine while the rest of the world sleeps.
"The human clock is about 24 hours, thanks to Earth's 24-hour light-dark cycle," Sharkey says. "But some people have a slightly longer natural cycle, and some are slightly shorter." If your circadian rhythm is on the long side, you're more likely to be a night owl.
Night owls may be at higher risk for chronic disease, prior research has shown. A 2022 study found night owls were more sedentary, had lower aerobic fitness levels, and burned less fat at rest and while active than early birds.
But, being a night owl may also just be in your genes. "A recent study has actually shown that a genetic change in a gene called CRY1 is common among people who have a condition called delayed sleep phase disorder, or DSPD," explains Dr. Ayish.
“Evening-oriented individuals show greater difficulties in self-regulation, together with a reduced ability to process and regulate negative emotions,” according to the study.
These are also the symptoms of bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder are more likely to be night owls. The melatonin system, which regulates the biological clock, does not respond as well to light and darkness in bipolar disorder.
Night owls make up approximately 15% of the population and are most productive late into the evenings. Many are creative and more open to taking risks. While not always true, they may be more likely to: Be sleep-deprived.
Logicians (INTP) (85%), the personality type most likely to agree that they are night owls, tend to take the image of focused dreaminess to the extreme – that is, they get so caught up in their thoughts and ideas that schedules and day-to-day details, like remembering to go to bed, frequently fall by the wayside.
Those who regularly stayed up late, or got the fewest hours of sleep, also scored higher on depression symptoms and lower on daily mood. The findings add to what's already known about the association between sleep, daily mood and long-term risk of depression.
Usually, people who are night owls stay awake past midnight, and extreme night owls may stay awake until just before or even after dawn. Some night owls have a preference or habit for staying up late, or stay up to work the night shift.
But having night-owl tendencies may come with serious health effects. Recent studies have discovered that, regardless of their lifestyle, people who stay up late had both higher levels of body fat and an increased risk of developing other health problems, such as diabetes and low muscle mass, than did early birds.
In 2018, a large study in the UK found that evening people had a 10 percent higher risk of dying than morning people over a 6.5-year period.
Other well-known night owls include Winston Churchill, Fran Lebowitz, Bob Dylan, Carl Jung, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Travolta, Prince, Christina Aguilera, and, believe it or not, Barack Obama. Some research even suggests that those who stay up late and sleep in regularly are smarter than those who don't.
Is it better to be an early bird or a night owl? As long as you're getting the 7–9 hours of high quality sleep recommended by the National Sleep Foundation each night, it doesn't really matter what time you choose to wake up and go to sleep.
New research from SleepScore Labs, our partner in sleep data and science expertise, has found that night owls are more likely than early birds to have bad cases of bedtime procrastination.
When you have ADHD, your brain is always on, unable to relax. With ADHD, you'll have racing thoughts at night about what you need to do, what you didn't do, and anything else that pops into your mind. And once you start to expect this problem, it interferes even more when you need to get some rest.