The Early Birds DO Get The Worm

An interesting new study by a Korean research team recently published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism proves good news for you early birds!

 

Over 1,600 people were studied and classified based on their sleep and wake cycles. People either stayed up late on a constant basis (“late owls”) or were traditional “early to bed early to rise” types. An intermediate group also existed. Each participant was followed with DEXA and CT scans to measure total body fat, lean body mass, and abdominal fat.

 

Interestingly, the “night owls,” despite being generally younger, had higher levels of body fat and triglycerides than their “early bird” counterparts. They were significantly more likely to develop diabetes!

 

The study didn’t just find a link between these sleep habits and diabetes; similar risks for sarcopenia (lose of muscle mass) also existed with the “night owl” group. Also of interest is these risks existed with the “night owl” group even if they got the same amount of sleep as the early birds!

 

This study doesn’t prove cause and effect, but it begs more research to be done into this strong link!

 

Possible reasons for this? “Night owls” may have poorer health habits such as late night eating, smoking, and more sedentary lifestyle in general.

 

This issue needs a lot more study! Most “night owls” are younger and big part of our workforce! Globally, we may have a generation of young, hard working people who are setting themselves up for diabetes and related health issues over the next decade!