Night Owls Face Greater Heart Health Risks, New Study Reveals
Understanding the Connection Between Sleep Patterns and Cardiovascular Health
If you’ve always been someone who comes alive after sunset, preferring late nights to early mornings, recent research suggests you might want to pay closer attention to your heart health. A comprehensive study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association has uncovered a troubling link between being a “night owl” and increased cardiovascular risks. The research, which examined data from over 320,000 British adults between the ages of 39 and 74, found that people who identify as “evening types” face a 16% higher risk of experiencing heart attacks and strokes compared to those who fall somewhere in the middle of the sleep-wake spectrum. What makes this study particularly significant is its scale and the detailed analysis of various health factors that contribute to this increased risk. Researchers didn’t just look at when people preferred to sleep; they examined the entire picture of cardiovascular health, including lifestyle behaviors and biological markers that influence heart disease risk.
The Research Behind the Findings
The study’s methodology was both straightforward and comprehensive. Participants were asked to self-identify their natural tendencies as either “definite morning” people, “definite evening” people, or somewhere in between, which researchers termed “intermediate.” Once these preferences were established, the research team calculated each participant’s cardiovascular health using the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score, a recognized framework for assessing heart disease risk. According to Kristen Knutson, an associate professor of neurology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who specializes in sleep and circadian rhythm research, these eight factors represent the key cardiovascular disease risk factors identified by the American Heart Association. The LE8 score encompasses four health behaviors—diet quality, physical activity, sleep duration, and nicotine exposure—along with four physical health factors: blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar levels, and blood fat levels. As Knutson explains, different people will have these factors in different combinations, but they’re all interconnected and influence one another in complex ways.
The Stark Reality for Evening People
The findings paint a concerning picture for those who naturally gravitate toward later hours. Evening people were found to be 79% more likely to have poor overall heart health when compared to those in the intermediate group. In contrast, morning people fared slightly better than the intermediate group, showing a 5% lower risk of having a poor LE8 score. However, the most alarming statistic relates to actual cardiovascular events: evening people demonstrated a 16% higher risk of both heart attack and stroke. What’s particularly interesting is that researchers were able to determine that approximately 75% of this elevated risk could be explained by other LE8 factors rather than sleep timing alone. This finding is crucial because it suggests that being a night owl isn’t inherently dangerous to your heart—rather, it’s the lifestyle factors and health behaviors that often accompany late-night living that create the problem. As Knutson aptly puts it, “It isn’t being a night owl that’s a problem. I think being a night owl who’s trying to live in a morning lark’s world is a conflict between one’s internal clock and their social clock.”
Breaking Down the Risk Factors
When researchers dug deeper into what specifically drove the increased cardiovascular risk for night owls, they discovered several key contributors. Nicotine use emerged as the strongest factor, accounting for 34% of the link between late bedtimes and heart disease—a finding that underscores the critical importance of smoking cessation for anyone concerned about heart health. Shorter sleep duration explained 14% of the extra risk, highlighting how burning the candle at both ends takes a real toll on the cardiovascular system. High blood sugar levels accounted for 12% of the increased risk, while body weight and diet quality each contributed about 11% to the elevated danger. These findings reveal that the night owl lifestyle often creates a cascade of health challenges that compound one another. When you’re up late, you might be more likely to smoke, eat poorly, get insufficient sleep, and develop metabolic issues—all of which directly impact heart health. Interestingly, the behavioral effects of being a night owl proved stronger in women than in men, with women being 96% more likely to have lower LE8 scores compared to 67% in men, though women didn’t show a correspondingly higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Dr. Sonia Tolani, a preventative cardiologist and Associate Professor of Medicine who serves as co-director of the Columbia University Women’s Heart Center, offers insight into this gender difference: “Women are further stressed by that lifestyle because they’re having to still get up and be the primary caregiver for family members.” This observation points to the additional burden many women face when their natural sleep preferences clash with family and societal expectations.
The Bigger Picture of Heart Disease Prevention
These findings take on even greater significance when viewed against the backdrop of heart disease in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, making any insight into preventable risk factors vitally important for public health. The research team concluded that prevention efforts should particularly focus on improving lifestyle habits during the hours that night owls spend awake. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to force themselves to become morning people—an approach that would likely prove both unsuccessful and stressful for those with naturally late chronotypes. Instead, the focus should be on mitigating the health risks that often accompany a night owl lifestyle. The key is understanding that while you might not be able to change when you feel most alert and productive, you absolutely can change the behaviors and choices you make during those hours.
Practical Steps for Night Owls to Protect Their Hearts
So what can night owls do to protect their cardiovascular health without completely overhauling their natural sleep preferences? The experts offer several practical recommendations that acknowledge the reality of different chronotypes while addressing modifiable risk factors. Knutson emphasizes that the most obvious step is to quit smoking, acknowledging that while this isn’t new advice, it remains critically important—especially given that nicotine use explained such a large portion of the increased heart disease risk. Beyond smoking cessation, she recommends focusing on sleep regularity, which means trying to go to bed at approximately the same time every day and avoiding the temptation to dramatically shift your sleep schedule on days off. This consistency helps regulate not just sleep timing but also other important behaviors like light exposure, meal timing, and exercise activity. Dr. Tolani offers an encouraging perspective for those who might feel overwhelmed by the idea of major lifestyle changes. She advises people to “prioritize the low-hanging fruit”—making small, manageable changes rather than attempting a complete transformation overnight. If dedicating an hour to the gym isn’t realistic with your schedule, perhaps you can find a way to take a 10-minute walk during your day. If overhauling your entire diet feels impossible, maybe you can start by reducing your salt intake. The goal is to make incremental improvements that add up over time, recognizing that perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of good when it comes to heart health. For night owls navigating a world largely designed for early risers, protecting your cardiovascular health doesn’t require betraying your natural rhythms—it simply requires being mindful of the health behaviors within your control and making choices that support your heart, regardless of what time you prefer to be awake.
