NEW YORK, February 29, 2024 — Is being a night owl secretly sabotaging your heart health? A large new study suggests it might be, but the connection isn’t as simple as staying up late. Researchers found that people who consistently burn the midnight oil have a 16% higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to early risers—but that risk largely disappears when you account for other lifestyle factors.
- A study of over 322,000 adults linked later sleep schedules to a higher risk of cardiovascular events.
- The increased risk was largely tied to unhealthy habits common among night owls, like poor diet and lack of exercise.
- Prioritizing heart-healthy behaviors—regardless of when you sleep—is key to protecting your cardiovascular system.
Want to know if your sleep schedule is putting your heart at risk? Here’s what the science says about night owls and heart disease.
The Night Owl Heart Risk: What the Data Shows
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The research, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, followed nearly 323,000 participants between the ages of 39 and 74 for approximately 14 years. Participants self-reported their sleep preferences and were scored on their adherence to the (LE8)—a measure of cardiovascular health encompassing diet, exercise, nicotine exposure, sleep, weight, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
Researchers discovered that those identifying as “night owls” with lower LE8 scores were more likely to experience heart attacks and strokes. Specifically, night owls faced a 16% increased risk compared to “definite” morning people or those with an intermediate sleep preference. But here’s the crucial nuance: when researchers statistically accounted for unhealthy behaviors, the elevated risk largely vanished.
It’s Not *When* You Sleep, But *How* You Live
“When these risk factors were accounted for statistically, the excess cardiovascular risk associated with being a night owl was largely eliminated,” explains Allen Taylor, M.D., a cardiologist and chairman of cardiology at MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute. This suggests that being a night owl isn’t directly causing heart problems, but rather that the lifestyle factors often associated with it are the real culprits.
A: Not necessarily. The study suggests that the increased risk is linked to unhealthy behaviors often seen in night owls, such as poor diet, lack of exercise, and higher nicotine use. Focusing on a heart-healthy lifestyle can mitigate the risk, regardless of your sleep schedule.
How Sleep Impacts Your Heart
Our bodies operate on a roughly 24-hour cycle called the , influenced by light exposure and hormone release. Disrupting this natural rhythm can have cascading effects on health.
“Sleep supports cardiovascular health through physiological changes in heart rate and blood pressure,” says Carleara Weiss, Ph.D., M.S., R.N., a sleep scientist, assistant professor at the State University of New York, and sleep educator at Aeroflow Sleep. “Adequate sleep duration and quality also regulate immune function and hormone levels, and reduce inflammatory response.”
Poor sleep can also disrupt hormones that control appetite, potentially leading to cravings for unhealthy foods and weight gain—further impacting heart health. Additionally, untreated , characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, can significantly reduce oxygen levels and strain the cardiovascular system.
Improving Your Sleep—and Your Heart Health
Adjusting sleep schedules and circadian rhythms often starts with behavioral changes, says Weiss. This could involve establishing a consistent bedtime, utilizing light therapy to regulate wakefulness, or even using tools like the . Dr. Taylor emphasizes that addressing the modifiable LE8 factors—diet, exercise, and more—can inherently improve both sleep and overall lifestyle.
However, individuals with conditions like or those working night shifts may require medical guidance to optimize sleep quality, according to Weiss.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, Dr. Taylor concludes, the increased risk associated with a night owl schedule can be “substantially reduced or eliminated” by adopting positive cardiovascular health habits. In other words, prioritizing a heart-healthy lifestyle—including quality sleep—is far more important than when you finally close your eyes.
