An international group of scientists from the United Kingdom and the United States completed a large-scale study of human chronotypes, lasting 6.5 years, and concluded that people "owls" are at risk of dying before their biological term. The researchers shared their work in the specialized journal Chronobiology International.
"People lead the night way of life not on their own, but because of the peculiarities of the psyche and physiology. Our task is to help such people adapt in life and, taking preventive measures, take care of their health, "says one of the co-authors of the study, Kristen Knutson of Northwestern University (USA).
"Perhaps our research confirms that" owls "have their own biological clocks, the course of which does not coincide with the course of time outside their consciousness," the researcher adds, noting that due to chronic lack of sleep, the "owls" have much more chances to undermine their own health in comparison with "larks".
"Later falling asleep and awakening is a problem whose existence can not be ignored by society," says professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey Malcolm von Schantz.
A large-scale study involved more than half a million volunteers from England, aged 38 to 73 years. Data were also collected for the analysis on the field, race, body mass index, the presence of diseases and smoking participants, and also about how many hours a day they sleep.
The results of the study show that the risk of early death in "owls" is 10 percent higher than in people who adhere to the natural order of alternation of wakefulness and sleep.
Traditionally it is believed that there are three types of human chronotypes, among them: "owl", "lark" and "dove". People whose chronotype corresponds to a "lark" or "pigeon" often do not experience problems with morning awakening and wakefulness during the day. "Owl" is constantly hampered by drowsiness.
Activity in the modern world is more tuned for "larks": the working and school day begins early enough, which makes some tasks more difficult for "Sov." The constant lack of sleep, caused by the need to get up early, leads to the emergence of the so-called "social jetlag". Recently, for example, scientists have found out that because of the early start of studies at universities, those who prefer to lead a more evening-night way of life get worse grades. At the same time, "owls" are considered more social, compared to those who are accustomed to get up at dawn. The latter, in turn, prefer mainly to communicate only with friends.
The need to adjust to the morning-day activities may adversely affect the health of "owls." The scientists report that "owls" are most susceptible to cardiovascular diseases (heart attacks, strokes, cardiovascular insufficiency), endocrine system disorders (diabetes, dysfunctions of large endocrine glands) according to the data obtained.
The night lifestyle also provokes the development of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, pulmonary disorders and mental disorders, according to the results of the study.
Scientists note that their work is the first large-scale study of the links between the human chronotype and the risk of death from various natural causes. In the future, more research is needed to help determine the physiological causes of such a relationship.
The article is based on materials .
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