Are You an Owl at Night? These Reasons Could Put You at a Higher Risk of Illness

Are You an Owl at Night?

However, there are a few easy things you can do to prevent your late-night lifestyle from becoming unhealthy.

It’s early now because it’s gotten so late. You neglected to acquire food before the store closed since you were working nonstop.

However, that was hours ago, and at this point, the only choices available are ones with neon lights shining into the night.

For the so-called night owls, the early birds’ yin and yang, these are typical situations. Usually, they wake up when their neighbors go to sleep.

Unfortunately, though, our night owls may suffer long-term health consequences from this lack of dietary options.

A recent study examined the detrimental effects of being a night owl on one’s health, specifically looking at the foods that these individuals consume while awake in the early morning hours.

The study examined the literature and posed the following question: Does the time you go to bed have an impact on your health? It was just published in Advances in Nutrition. Yes, it does, is the study authors’ succinct response.

The researchers, some of whom work for the massive food company Nestle, concentrated on what’s referred to as an individual’s chronotype. More often known as your circadian rhythm, or your sleep-wake cycles in connection to the setting and rising of the sun, is your chronotype, or individual sleep pattern.

Night owls are also more likely to alter their eating schedules and skip meals, most frequently breakfast, according to a few observational studies (which are thought to have the least level of accuracy).

The research raises some interesting questions, but it doesn’t prove that eating poorly and staying up late are causally related.

Similar to numerous other aspects of life, numerous other elements are involved.

The night owl’s lifestyle and diet

During these “night owl” hours, healthier dining establishments that deliver food and grocery stores are normally closed.

The last refuge for food is frequently fast food restaurants and corner stores, which will always have inferior food options—those with more fat, sugar, and salt.

Eating fatty and sugary foods late in the day necessitates lengthy digestion times, which can result in unintended weight gain, indigestion, and even a higher risk of stroke, according to Glacier Wellness health and wellness expert Samantha Morrison.

According to her statement to Healthline, “one of the most devastating consequences being a night owl can have on a person’s health is the effect it has on maintaining healthy eating habits.” “Your sleeping habits can be seriously impacted by eating a substantial meal in the evening.”

particularly when that substantial lunch consists of a Mega burrito from the corner store or anything like a hot dog, bag of chips, and a fountain drink. The tobacco behind the counter and the beer in the rear refrigerators go well with those alternatives.

Plotting those possibilities on a timeline usually results in shortened lives full of several unpleasant ailments.

However, people who are more likely to work those hours on a regular basis—freelancers, shift workers, and those employed in the so-called “gig economy” in particular—might not have access to another convenient choice.

One bothersome aspect of the chronotype research, according to Ben Taylor, proprietor of the advice website HomeWorkingClub.com for independent contractors and home workers, is that it appears to imply that being a night owl is a deliberate decision—even going so far as to call it a “preference.”

Taylor told Healthline, “I am fortunate enough to be able to work around my own natural rhythms as someone who has been self-employed and working from home for many years.” “Even though I can make myself stick to a nine to five schedule, my body and mind always revert to being night owls.”

“It doesn’t seem right that studies like this are reported on in a way that suggests night owls are making a poor lifestyle choice,” says Taylor, adding that “people’s wake and sleep times have evolved.”

Some people just don’t have an option.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3 percent of American workers are still at work at 2 a.m., and 9% of American workers are still at work at 9 a.m.

Someone has to be awake when everyone else is sleeping during those valuable hours that coincide with the sun rising and setting on a daily basis, whether that someone is living in one time zone and working in another, or they are doing a graveyard shift in the back of an ambulance.

Because it’s calmer and less busy at night, some people even prefer it that way.

However, the first step to avoiding a night owl lifestyle is understanding exactly how it might harm your health and raise your risk of several avoidable diseases.

The primary cause of night owls’ existence, according to Dr. Steven Zodkoy, director of Monmouth Advanced Medicine and author of Misdiagnosed: The Adrenal Fatigue Link, is an aberrant cortisol cycle.

According to him, cortisol levels are greater in the morning for most people, but they peak later in the day for those who experience chronic stress.

According to Zodkoy, night owls “usually will have a shift in the normal pattern” (Healthline).

In general, the brain is ready to go to sleep later the later it wakes up completely.

Poor sleep, exhaustion, burnout, weight gain, anxiety, and other signs of a “Type-A personality,” according to Zodky, can result from it.

Zodky and others advise exercise, relaxation, and other lifestyle adjustments to assist lessen such impacts. This includes the chronotype study’s emphasis on diet.

In addition to potential long-term health risks, the stereotypical night owl lifestyle may result in poor financial decisions that could have an immediate impact.

Mattress Firm’s sleep health specialist, Dr. Sujay Kansagra, notes that numerous research indicate night owls perform poorly on a range of metrics, such as academic achievement, self-regulation, risk-taking, and mood disturbance risk.

He claimed that the new study gives circadian science “another interesting dimension,” part of which is probably explained by the food preferences of night owls.

The main query, though, is why night owls don’t eat well. Their internal circadian cycle is undoubtedly out of sync with the exterior clock, as Kansagra told Healthonet.

>>Also Know: 12 Sleep Relaxed Tips: Creating Better Nights for Better Days

How owls of the night can defend themselves

Making a plan in advance is the greatest way to prevent impulsive eating decisions, particularly when it’s late and you’re feeling a bit tipsy.

This entails stocking up on nutritious snacks at the grocery store during the day when it can be crowded with people.

Bananas, whole grain crackers, rotisserie chickens, baby carrots, packaged salads, low-salt nuts, low-fat cheeses, and bread may all satiate your late-night cravings for delicious snacks without adding extra calories.

Before going to bed, if you have a strong desire for one more beer, consider purchasing a 12-pack of canned sparkling water. The same satisfying feeling of cracking open a final cold one without the alcohol is experienced by your brain.

But whether by choice, diet, or occupation, those who would be classified as night owls can also make some easy adjustments to improve their quality of sleep once the shift is over and it’s finally time to go to bed.

The human circadian rhythm has changed throughout the course of a millennium, according to Bill Fish, co-founder of Tuck.com, but it was altered when Thomas Edison created the light bulb in 1879.

He said to Healthline, “Up until that point, people got up with the sun to go hunting or take care of the fields.” “When night fell, we took a nap.”

Therefore, Fish advises building “a sleep sanctuary” with blackout shades for windows and a white noise machine to make sure you are letting your body to naturally rest appropriately when you’re fighting eons of evolution and sleeping during the day.

Apart from that, it’s critical to pay attention to what your body is attempting to tell you.

“Continue to do everything possible to monitor your health,” Fish advised, “and monitor your diet to ensure you are consuming three quality meals per day.”