What Doctors Don’t Tell You Australia-NZ – July 22, 2019

FACEBOOK.COM/WDDTYAUNZ ISSUE 01 | AUG/SEP 2019 | WDDTY 35

EVERY PICTURE...

I

s it healthier to be an early-rising lark or a

late-to-bed owl? The latest research agrees

with the adage that larks enjoy better health

(although it doesn’t vouch for making

them wealthy and wise)—but it may not be

entirely related to sleeping habits.

The research also puts to bed (so to speak) the

theory that being a lark or owl is just down to our

genes: our sleeping patterns can change, with

most of us being larks when we’re very young,

before becoming owls in our teenage years and

beyond, and reverting to larks in older age.

Larks are certainly healthier. They are less

likely than owls to develop type 2 diabetes and

heart disease, while owls are also more likely to

suffer from psychological issues, neurological

disorders, gastrointestinal problems and

breathing difficulties.

Researchers from Northwestern University in

Chicago saw big differences in the health of larks

and owls when they surveyed more than 500,000

people between the ages of 37 and 73, whose

sleeping habits and health were monitored for

six years.^1

But researchers from Northumbria University

in the UK think there’s more to it than simply our

body clock, or ‘chronotype.’ Owls tend to have

unhealthier lifestyles; they drink more alcohol

and eat more sugary, processed food. They also

eat much later, and often just before they go to

bed, thus raising their blood sugar (glucose) levels

at the wrong time.^2

But what came first: does our body clock

determine our lifestyle choices or is it the other

way around? Researchers know that people who

are depressed, or who are taking illicit drugs, will

often stay up into the wee hours—suggesting

lifestyle influences our chronotype—but the

Northumbria researchers have discovered our

chronotype changes several times in our lifetime,

so that could impact on our habits.

Whatever it is, there’s one consolation for you

owls: all those larks are just catching worms,

anyhow.

Diabetes

30%

Neurological

disorders

25%

Gastrointestinal

problems

23%

Respiratory

problems

22%

Endocrine

problems

17%

Renal

problems

10%

Heart disease

7%

REFERENCES

1 Chronobiol Int, 2018; 8: 1045–53

2 Adv Nutr, 2019; 10: 30–42