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People that struggle to wake up early are more likely to die younger

The study suggests that night owls shouldn't be let to wake up for an 8am shift.

People that struggle to wake up early in the morning are apparently more likely to die younger as compared to early morning birds.

A recent research conducted in Britain found that people that stay up late have a 10 percent higher risk of dying.

More than 430,000 people were studied in the research.

Study

The study’s co-authors Malcolm van Schantz of the University of Surrey and Kristen Knutson of the Northwestern University in Chicago, gathered information from people aged between 38-73 from a public database.

Out of those studied, 27 percent termed themselves as “definitely as morning person”. 35 percent as “more a morning person than an evening person”, 28 percent as “more an evening than morning person” and 9 percent as “definitely an evening person”.

The participants’ weight, smoking habits and socioeconomic status were also recorded.

The six-and-a-half-year study recorded just over 10,500 deaths among the studied. Further research into the deaths found that night owls had a 10 percent risk of dying as compared to early morning risers.

Night owls were more likely to suffer from psychological disorders, diabetes and stomach and breathing troubles. Lack of enough sleep at night didn’t help matters either.

"This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored," said study co-author Malcolm van Schantz of the University of Surrey -- and argued that "night types" should be allowed to start and finish work later in the day. "Night owls trying to live in a morning-lark world may (suffer) health consequences," said fellow author Kristen Knutson of the Northwestern University in Chicago.

The night owls studied were also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and coffee plus use illegal drugs.

The authors believe that “people who are up late have an internal biological clock that doesn’t match their external environment,” said Knutson.

She went on to reveal that “It could be psychological stress, eating at the wrong time for the body, not exercising enough, not sleeping enough, being awake at night by yourself, maybe drug or alcohol use.”

Their advice on handling such an issue; Knutson said that: “If you can recognize who these people are, in part, genetically determined and not just a character flaw, jobs and work hours could have more flexibility for owls. They shouldn’t be forced to get up for an 8am shift”

Source: The Standard

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