As there are morning people there are also night owls. This is people who feel most active at night and in the morning they are the most fatigued. Such people have a different type of Chrono type when compared to others. Night owls are normally disconnected to society’s way of living. Since their circadian rhythm works the opposite way. It is frustrating for most people to sleep at 3 a.m. and by 8 a.m. they have to wake up. According to studies, despite night owls having few benefits, several health risks are linked to the night owl routine.
Here are some of the reasons why it is unhealthy being a night owl.
Night owls are sleep deprived
Night owls go to trundle bed most of them between 2 or 3 in the morning. If they have to be at work by 8 in the morning, then they will be sleep deprived if this is the case every day. This constant deprivation of sleep has many negative effects on your health and general being. When compared to morning people their sleep health is really poor. Although they might try and pay for the weekday sleep debt. It is not as effective and disrupts your weekday routine which has other effects on it as well. Sleep deprivation when it becomes chronic can lead to heart illness, obesity, and diabetes all of which can be controlled by getting quality sleep.
Poor school performance
Teenage night owls perform worse in school due to the shifting timing. There are two main reasons as to why teenagers sleep late. One is due to the school pressure of the many responsibilities and social distractions. Plus, hormonal changes during puberty interfere a lot with the sleep routine of many teens. This affects their sleep making them sleep past midnight and also affects their studies as their grades start deteriorating. Night owl teens are also vulnerable to emotional issues compared to morning teens. Parents need to help their teens to form sleep routines and keep them off from their mobile phones and other electronic devices at night to help them get quality sleep.
Poor exercise regimen
Night owls have a poor sleep routine and similarly, their exercise routine is the same. This is because most of the time they are sitting and they are constantly fatigued to get time to exercise. This does not mean that they are inactive people but getting a work out in is a challenge for them. This includes taking a 30-minute walk is quite hard for them. Since most people prefer doing exercises in the morning due to its positive benefits. Night owls are usually struggling to fight sleep fatigue to get through the day so exercise is not an option. Lack of exercise has many risks in itself and together with being a night owl the unhealthier risks are involved.
Poor relationships
When you get less sleep at night. Chances of you having a bad mood in the morning are obvious. This type of mood forces you to have poor relations and you tend to isolate yourself most of the time. Therefore, most night owls are likely to be single, have poor relations with colleagues and close family members as well. While the early birds have long term romantic relationships. The night owls are most of the time in no or short term relationships. In the same view, night owls lack the health benefits that the happily married people have due to their unusual nighttime routine. Having great relationships is valuable for mental and physical health.
Have a higher risk to develop diabetes
Most night owls suffer from type 2 diabetes due to their constant weight gain, unhealthy lifestyles. All which are influenced by lack of sleep and how their body’s metabolism is affected by staying up late. The body is most cases is not able to handle a mismatch of the circadian rhythm and slows down your metabolic rate. For instance, food may not be processed as it should lead to overweight issues, indigestion, and many other related risks. Additionally, people with evening Chrono types for the men were at higher risk to develop diabetes. While the women could get belly fat and metabolic syndrome issues such as high cholesterol, high blood sugar, that increase risk of getting diabetes.
A challenge to controlling the diabetes
When you have diabetes and you are a night owl. It becomes a challenge to managing it due to this nighttime system. Late nights lead to poor glycemic control and diabetes becomes worse. Quality sleep should be made a priority for diabetes patients. These evening Chrono types do not only worsen diabetes they also have unhealthy cholesterol levels. When controlling diabetes becomes an issue. It can lead to kidney malfunction and through this it can lead to further complications leading to even death.
Night owls are risk-takers
Risk-taking is good if the risks do not affect your well-being negatively. The tendency that night owls have for risk-taking is higher due to their sleep routine. For instance, men took more financial risks and the women were more daring than their early birds counterparts. The cortisol hormone, which is the stress hormone is also higher in people who are active later in the night than the early birds. The risks most of the time lead to unhealthy risk choices that are high stake behaviors. Such as leading to dangerous situations such as unprotected sex, doing drugs, and even gambling. All of which leads to unhealthy lifestyles that deteriorate the quality of life we lead.
In summary, night owl behaviors can be shifted by having a mindset change, improving your room environment and having a regular sleep pattern. However, those working shift jobs that force them to work at night or have severe conditions like allergy to the sun. Can manage the nocturnal lifestyle before they find a better solution to having a better flow with others and have their sleep cycle back to working normally.
