A new study provides important information for "night owls".Researchers at the Bragan Women's Hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School found that people who sleep and wake up late have a less healthy lifestyle and are at greater risk of diabetes than those who habitually wake up early.The results were published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The biological clock, or circadian rhythm preference, refers to a person's preference for sleep and waking time, which is partly determined by genes, so it may be difficult to change."Those who consider themselves 'night owls' may need to pay more attention to their lifestyle, and they are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes," said Huang Tianyi, an epidemiologist and correspondent.”
Researchers have previously found that people with irregular sleep schedules are at higher risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, while people with irregular sleep schedules at night are more likely to experience irregular sleep patterns.In this study, they wanted to understand the relationship between timing and diabetes risk, and to study the role of lifestyle factors.
The team analyzed data from 63,676 female nurses collected by Nurse Health Research II from 2009 to 2017, including self-reported time types, diet quality, BMI, sleep time, smoking behavior, alcohol consumption, sports activities, and family history of diabetes.The team identified participants' diabetes status from their self-reports and medical records.
Nurse Health Study II is one of the largest surveys of risk factors for major chronic diseases in women.One of the advantages of this study was regular follow-up and repeated assessment of health and lifestyle factors.
About 11% of participants reported having a "clear night" clock type, while about 35% reported having a "clear morning" clock type.The remaining half are classified as "intermediate", meaning they are neither early risers nor late sleepers.
Before lifestyle factors were considered, the nighttime time pattern was associated with a 72% increase in diabetes risk.After considering lifestyle factors, night time patterns were associated with a 19% increased risk of diabetes.Only 6 percent of those with the healthiest lifestyles were night-time.Of those with the most unhealthy lifestyles, 25 percent were nocturnal.
The study found that those with night time patterns were more likely to drink heavily, eat poorly, sleep less each night, and now smoke, weight, BMI and physical activity rates are in unhealthy ranges.
"When we control unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, the strong correlation between time type and diabetes risk is reduced, but still exists.This means that lifestyle factors account for a large proportion of this association.First author Sina Kianersi, a researcher at Brigham Channing's Department of Cyber Medicine, said.
Next, the researchers plan to investigate the genetic determinants of biological clocks and their relationship to cardiovascular disease and diabetes in larger and more diverse populations.
"If we can determine the causal relationship between the biological clock and diabetes or other diseases, doctors can better tailor prevention strategies to patients.”Kianersi说