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 Night Owls Face Higher Heart Risks






If you’re the kind of person who gets a second wind at midnight, you might want to pay extra attention to your heart. A massive new study suggests that burning the midnight oil could be quietly putting your heart at risk—especially as you get older. The research, which tracked over 300,000 adults, found that people who naturally stay up late (a.k.a. night owls) had worse heart health and a higher chance of heart attack or stroke than those who thrive in the morning. The difference was especially stark for women.

What’s behind this risk? A lot comes down to habits. Night owls were more likely to smoke, get less sleep, and eat poorly—three things that are well-known enemies of a healthy heart. The study used the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” checklist (think: diet, exercise, sleep, blood pressure, and so on) to measure overall heart health. The results were precise: late-night types had a tougher time checking those boxes.

A Closer Look at the Numbers

Researchers dug into data from the UK Biobank, focusing on people around age 57. Participants described their own sleep habits—some were die-hard night owls, some early birds, and most fell somewhere in between. Compared to the “in-betweeners,” night owls were 79% more likely to have a poor heart health score, and they faced a 16% higher risk of heart attack or stroke over about 14 years. Early birds, on the other hand, had a slight edge: a 5% lower chance of poor heart health.

Women who stayed up late seemed to face the most significant risks, but the pattern held for men as well.

Why the Late-Night Struggle?

According to lead researcher Sina Kianersi from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the trouble starts with “circadian misalignment”—your body’s internal clock just isn’t synced up with the outside world. That mismatch can make it harder to stick to healthy routines. Night owls are more likely to slip into bad habits like irregular sleep, smoking, and grabbing whatever’s easy for dinner.

The Good News: Change Is Possible

Here’s the hopeful part: these risks aren’t set in stone. “Much of the risk for night owls came down to things they can change—like quitting smoking, getting better sleep, and eating healthier,” said Kristen Knutson, chair of the American Heart Association’s recent statement on the topic.

Being a night owl doesn’t mean you’re destined for heart trouble. It just means you might have to work a little harder to keep those habits in check.

A New Way to Personalize Care

The researchers also recommend that doctors pay closer attention to chronotype—the fancy word for whether you’re a morning or night person—when tailoring treatment plans. Some medications and therapies actually work better if timed to your body’s own rhythm. So don’t be surprised if, in the future, your doctor asks when you usually go to bed before prescribing a new routine.

A Few Caveats

This study mainly focused on white adults in the UK who were generally healthier than average, so the findings might not apply to everyone. Plus, people reported their sleep habits only once, so we don’t know whether they changed over time.

Still, the takeaway is straightforward: if you love late nights, it’s worth being a little more vigilant about your heart. And if you want to keep burning the midnight oil, think about swapping out a few bad habits for better ones—you might help your heart in the process.

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