• People with a later sleep and wake time, known as night owls, have a 19% increased risk of developing diabetes compared to early birds, even after accounting for lifestyle factors. This finding was based on a study of nearly 64,000 nurses and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Night owls were also more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet, less physical activity, higher alcohol use, smoking, and inadequate sleep.
• The study found that matching a person’s chronotype (sleep pattern) with their work schedule could potentially reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Notably, the increased risk of diabetes was only observed in night owls who worked during the day and not in those who worked overnight shifts.
• Evening chronotype was associated with a 72% increased risk of diabetes before taking lifestyle factors into account. Among the study participants with the healthiest lifestyles, only 6% were evening chronotypes, while 25% of those with the unhealthiest lifestyles were evening chronotypes. The association between chronotype and diabetes risk was partially explained by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.

Source: Ground News