# Is being a night owl bad for your health?



## Northerner (Dec 1, 2018)

Night owls may have a higher risk of suffering from heart disease and type 2 diabetes than early risers.

In the first ever international review of studies analysing whether being an early riser or a night owl can influence your health, researchers have uncovered a growing body of evidence indicating an increased risk of ill health in people with an evening preference as they have more erratic eating patterns and consume more unhealthy foods.

The findings have been reported in _Advances in Nutrition_ today (Friday 30 November)

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181130111623.htm


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## mikeyB (Dec 1, 2018)

I used to be an early riser when I was working, and that affected my health so badly I had to be medically retired. As soon as I retired, I just slept as long as I needed to, and still do, and I do tend to be a night owl. I don’t have an erratic eating pattern, mind, because it’s not just me at home. 

Anyway, the conclusion from that report is eat a healthy diet when you're watching test cricket from the other side of the world. Big news.


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## robert@fm (Dec 1, 2018)

Being a night owl has certainly been bad for my health today. 

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/tired-of-waiting.78596/


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## Madeline (Dec 1, 2018)

I’m a night owl too, I found getting up to commute an absolute nightmare, I used to sleep on the train in the morning - I don’t think I ever drooled or slept on strangers’ shoulders   Thoroughly enjoying my lie ins now, and the absolute bliss of an afternoon nap.


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## Northerner (Dec 1, 2018)

I feel like half the day has been wasted if I'm not up before 7, and it makes me feel very lethargic for the rest of the day when I sleep in. Although, perhaps the reason I sleep in is because I'm feeling a lack of energy in the first place!  Still, it reduces my risk of Type 2 diabetes, so....errr...!


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## Madeline (Dec 1, 2018)

I get up at 7am, do my meds, give the dog his meds, then take my breakfast and metformin back to bed with me. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I were up from 7am, there’s only so much reading and tv I can manage.


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## Northerner (Dec 1, 2018)

Madeline said:


> I get up at 7am, do my meds, give the dog his meds, then take my breakfast and metformin back to bed with me. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I were up from 7am, there’s only so much reading and tv I can manage.


I'm usually up at 5, or even earlier when it is lighter!  Not that I get a great deal done with all those hours!


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## Madeline (Dec 1, 2018)

FIVE? 

That’s the middle of the night here.


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## Lucy Honeychurch (Dec 1, 2018)

I'm a natural night owl, that's one of the reasons I work nights  I sleep better in the day than at night. I have worked with people who have had to give up nights as they struggle to sleep in the day and have become ill. I, however, am rarely ill (touches wood!). 
A friend of mine is a nurse and finds it much worse to work days and nights combined as it messes with her body clock.
I've read before that some people are night owls and others early larks, going with your natural circadian rhythm is probably better for your health than fighting against it.


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## Northerner (Dec 1, 2018)

Benny G said:


> I've always been a night owl. I work 2pm through 10pm and rarely get to bed before 4am. In the summer time I love going to bed after the dawn, sometimes I think my night time starts only when the sun has come up.


You're not a vampire are you?


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## Madeline (Dec 1, 2018)

Is that your pig btw? It’s a very nice looking pig.


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## SadhbhFiadh (Dec 3, 2018)

I am a lark, husb an owl. His 10:30 "Waking" bg is around 7 or 8. Mine (at about 5:30) is usually around 6. Yet his HbA1c is lower than mine. Go figure.


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## robert@fm (Dec 3, 2018)

Madeline said:


> Is that your pig btw? It’s a very nice looking pig.


Nobody ever asks me about my quoll.  And no, it's not mine...


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## Northerner (Dec 3, 2018)

Madeline said:


> Is that your pig btw? It’s a very nice looking pig.


It's a representation of my astral self


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## Madeline (Dec 3, 2018)

Northerner said:


> It's a representation of my astral self


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## Madeline (Dec 3, 2018)

robert@fm said:


> Nobody ever asks me about my quoll.  And no, it's not mine...



It’s a beautiful quoll. But it looks quite wild, so.


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## eggyg (Dec 3, 2018)

robert@fm said:


> Nobody ever asks me about my quoll.  And no, it's not mine...


I have just googled quoll, never heard of it, thought it was a wolf! Last  night’s Dynasties on BBC was about painted wolves, never heard of those either. I thought they were hyenas! Why do you have a quoll as your avatar @robert@fm? There, I have asked!


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## eggyg (Dec 3, 2018)

I am a lark, but in the winter months I don’t like getting up when it’s still dark, so usually lie awake from 6 until I see a chink of light through the curtains. I am usually in bed by 10.30 at the latest, then I read for sometimes an hour!


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## Madeline (Dec 3, 2018)

I’ve seen them on Secret Life of the Zoo, but they call them painted dogs. Our two little dogs were glued to the tv watching them.

Quolls are Aussie aren’t they? Australia is so selfish with its animals, I’d love a pet quokka.


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## Madeline (Dec 3, 2018)

I’d love to be able to sleep earlier, but I rarely make it before 2am. My insomnia has definitely got worse.


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## mikeyB (Dec 3, 2018)

Madeline said:


> I’ve seen them on Secret Life of the Zoo, but they call them painted dogs. Our two little dogs were glued to the tv watching them.
> 
> Quolls are Aussie aren’t they? Australia is so selfish with its animals, I’d love a pet quokka.


No you wouldn’t, they’ve got razor sharp claws, and they’re nocturnal. And it’s illegal. Cute as hell, though


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## Madeline (Dec 3, 2018)

How could you not adore this?


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