Nachteulen haben ein höheres Risiko für eine schlechte Stoffwechselgesundheit. Nachtschwärmer neigten morgens eher dazu, weniger Energie und Proteine zu sich zu nehmen, und aßen spät abends Lebensmittel mit hohem Energie-, Kohlenhydrat- und Fettgehalt.
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Night owls are at greater risk of poor metabolic health
Whether you are an early bird or a night owl, your sleep patterns can tell a lot about a person’s eating habits and subsequently the potential health risks.
Both Morning-types and Evening-types consumed similar amounts of food or energy across the day, but it was the timing of eating that was crucial.
Evening-types consumed less food between 3am and 9:59am but more food between 8pm and 2:59am, while the opposite was true for Morning-types.
Night owls were more likely to consume lower energy and protein intakes in the morning, and ate foods that were high in energy, carbohydrates and fats late at night.
This Evening-type eating and sleeping pattern was associated with greater body fat percentage, belly fat, and higher blood sugar and lipids.
Consuming food at night, when we are supposed to be fasting and sleeping, means we store more food rather than use it, which may increase susceptibility to obesity and cause worse health outcomes.
Women who naturally preferred a later bedtime and wake time were also more likely to have a higher Body Mass Index and Body Fat percentage, poorer lipid profiles, and less favourable indicators of glucose regulation than Morning-types.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2026.1862060/full
>“Chronotypes influences our preferences for food intake, our behaviours and our metabolism,”
I’m not really convinced that causality is that clear or one way.
Studies show that people with less self control are more likely to be night owls, have worse sleep and health habits, etc. So maybe that’s a more causal direction than it just being them being a „night owl“.
>Constraint was associated with Morningness and earlier circadian phase
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5313034/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5313034/)
Being a night owl has a biological component, but modern environment and behaviours(late night light, screens, late meals, alcohol, poor health habits, poor sleep habits, etc.) can push your circadian rhythm later and create „social jetlag“. When exposed to natural sunlight night owls start waking up earlier more in line with early birds suggesting many people who think they are night owls are actually morning birds but behaviours keep them up at night. Night owls have higher mortality rates, cancer risk, heart issues, mental health issues, etc. They find forcing a night owl to wake up early reduces depression symptoms and improves physical and mental performance.
I’d like a) to see a study where early birds are forced to live at odds with their chronotypes and see what their habits and health outcomes look like, and b) for studies like this to stop assuming that the correct way to be human is to be an early bird.
there is a clinical time that night owls stay up til.
until 3 a.m. is considered a night owl
if you fall asleep after 3 a.m. every night & wake up at the same time & its consistent, you have DSPD
if you fall asleep & wake up later & later each day without alarms, you have non-24(like me. very very very rare)
its important to know what your biological morning is. lots of night owls are forced into schedules that arent natural, but its even worse for those with DSPD (which is the more common circadian disorder)