Listen up, night owls: It might be time to take a page out of a rooster’s book.
In the past, research has shown that people who tend to stay up late — sometimes termed “evening chronotypes” — report more depression symptoms than those who are early risers, also known as “morning chronotypes.”
The mechanisms between the two, however, bear explaining.
A new study from researchers in the United Kingdom points to a potent mix of mindfulness, total sleep quality and alcohol consumption that may help explain why those of us who prefer to stay up late reap an unpleasant reward.
The team used an online questionnaire to collect data from 546 students at the University of Surrey. The questions asked students about their sleep patterns, relationship to mindfulness, alcohol use, quality of sleep and tendencies around rumination.
Ultimately, the study demonstrated that people with an evening chronotype were at a higher risk for depression due to their differences in sleep quality — folks who went to bed later reported poorer sleep — and increased alcohol use.
Students who woke up earlier also had higher scores when it came to “acting with awareness,” or how researchers measured mindfulness. Folks who went to bed later did not.
Now, although it may come as no surprise that sleeping a decent amount (and at a decent time) is good for your mental well-being, further research is needed — ideally in a population that isn’t always cramming for midterms.
Regardless, the study points to a useful starting point for interventions around better sleep.
And for now? It would seem like the early bird does, indeed, get more than just the worm.
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