Night Owls Have a Higher Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease
People who hate to miss a sunrise may have a lower risk of some chronic health problems, like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, than people who thrive on late nights and sleeping in, a new study suggests.Differences in so-called sleep chronotypes — or natural sleep-wake cycles that program our body’s biological clock — have long been associated with the risk of a wide range of chronic health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, fertility issues, digestive disorders, and mental illness. But much of this research has focused on what happens when people can’t sleep when their body is naturally wired to do so — a common issue for shift workers.The new study took a different approach, focusing on people who do follow their natural sleep-wake cycles, also known as…