Latest news with #AnaWenzler
Fast Company
30-07-2025
- Health
- Fast Company
A massive new study of 24,000 people says this is what happens to people who stay up too late every night
WORK LIFE Let's just say it was a struggle. BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 4:20 I'm a night owl, so I'm interested when I come across studies about what happens to people who habitually stay up late. Sometimes they can be disturbing, and sometimes they're innocuous. But sometimes — like the latest one I've read — they come with a silver lining. Today's study comes to us from the medical school at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. It involves tracking the sleep habits and health outcomes of nearly 24,000 people over 10 full years. Let's give you the results up front: good, bad, and the reason to look on the bright side. Writing in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, the Dutch researchers said they tracked the sleep habits and the degree to which they displayed cognitive decline over the same period. The results were disconcerting on their face for night owls; people who habitually stay up late wound up with faster cognitive decline than those who go to bed early. But, there was an unexpected twist. The less education night owls had, the less likely they were to experience similar levels of cognitive decline over the study period. That finding begs for an explanation, and researcher Ana Wenzler, a Ph.D. candidate in the university's department of epidemiology, offered a few: First, as we saw in another recent study, people who stay up late are less likely than their early-to-bed peers to exercise during the day. Second, people who go to bed early simply sleep through many of the times when other people smoke, drink, and eat unhealthy foods most often. Finally — and this might be the most interesting — the increased correlation between more education and more cognitive decline for night owls might stem from the fact that, statistically, more educated people wind up trapped in a daytime work hours environment, even when their natural rhythms might be better served by a different schedule. As Wenzler explained in an accompanying statement: 'That probably has to do with their sleep rhythm. They are often people who have to go back to work early in the morning and are therefore more likely to sleep too short, giving their brains too little rest. We suspect that lower- or middle-educated people are more likely to have a job that allows them to take their sleep rhythm into account, such as a job in the hospitality industry or one with night shifts. If this is not possible, your brain does not get enough rest and you are more likely to adopt bad habits. It would be nice if more consideration was given to evening people who now have to work early: for example, by giving them the option of starting later.' This is the part I look at as a silver lining. Because, even as workplaces have evolved during the 10 years or so that the study period covered, many highly educated night owls have, in fact, adjusted. More of us work remotely, more of us work for ourselves, and more of us have worked out flexibility. We've actually given ourselves 'the option of starting later' if it fits our schedules better. In my personal situation, that's exactly what's happened. If you go back to the earlier parts of my career, I was chained to an inflexible schedule at work. As an example, I had a job that required me to battle a Los Angeles commute and be sitting at my desk by 7:30 a.m. each day. Let's just say it was a struggle. Today, I'm fortunate in that I answer to nobody but myself, and so I set my own hours. I probably put in a lot more time each week than I once did when I was on someone else's schedule, but the hours I work are better suited to my natural chronotype (or 'biological clock'). Of course, we're hearing about this study just as many big companies are swinging the pendulum back the other way, requiring employees to be in the office more often, and limiting remote work and flexibility. Maybe that's a competitive opportunity if you're running a business. Great employees come in all chronotypes: night owls and early birds alike. Call it another silver lining. — By Bill Murphy Jr. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Inc. Magazine: Everything you need to start and grow your business. More
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Night owls tend to have more health risks than early birds—including cognitive decline, new study finds
Night owls—people whose natural body clock, or chronotype, skews to late sleep and wake times—are already forced to wake up too early for office jobs and to deal with derision from early birds. And now comes a new affront: research concluding that they appear to decline faster, cognitively, than morning people. To look into this, dementia researcher Ana Wenzler at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands analyzed sleep-based questionnaires through a large national study, BIRD-NL Project. She was able to determine people's chronotypes and found that 52% were morning people, 44% intermediate, and only about 5% night owls—different from the general global population breakdown, where typically 30% are night owls, 40% early birds, and the rest in between. Next, Wenzler looked at the results of a cognitive function test over a 10-year period to see how the scores differed at the end of the decade. Her conclusion was that evening people saw faster cognitive decline. But every night owl may not have the same risk. 'We found that 25% of the effect was due to lower sleep quality and smoking,' Wenzler tells Fortune. 'So, having a healthy lifestyle could lower the negative effect of having a late chronotype a bit.' She says that, for this study, she only looked into the executive function of the brain, so more research is needed into how chronotype affects memory, language, and other cognitive aspects. But the increased risk here, interestingly, was found mostly in highly educated people. 'That probably has to do with their sleep rhythm,' Wenzler said in a news release. 'They are often people who have to go back to work early in the morning and are therefore more likely to sleep too short, giving their brains too little rest.' This tracks with a previous body of research showing that night owls, compared with early risers, face various health risks—a 30% higher risk of diabetes, nearly double the odds of depression and other psychological disorders, increased heart disease risk, and a 10% higher all-cause mortality risk. 'All of this evidence, to me at least, impresses the fact that when we do not sleep in harmony with our chronotype, the ensuing sleep disruption that unfolds has consequences,' Matt Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, previously told Fortune. He added, 'There is vast variability in chronotype, and it's important to sleep in harmony with yours.' (You can determine it with this free calculator.) But if work and other factors won't allow you to stay up till 2 a.m. and sleep in until 10 a.m., could you push yourself to become an early bird? 'Some studies showed that intensive intervention could help change your chronotype… but only by a few hours,' Wenzler says. 'But forcing yourself to get up early every day while you are an extreme evening person will not make you a morning person. In these cases, it might be best to adapt your life, as much as possible, to your chronotype.' Walker also noted that only slight shifts are really possible, and that the ongoing, disciplined interventions that are required to truly change chronotypes are 'just not tenable,' he said. 'Let night owls sleep as they were biologically designed. At least, that's how I feel on the basis of the science and medicine of the data.' So, is the cognitive health of night owls just simply doomed? 'If these individuals are doomed is hard to say, as we only had a follow-up of 10 years,' says Wenzler, explaining that the true long-term effects—particularly whether or not night owls are more likely to develop dementia—need further investigation. 'Faster cognitive decline in middle age does not necessarily mean a higher risk of dementia,' she said in the news release. 'With our research, we hope to find out more about this. This will ultimately help us to be able to give people informed advice on how to try to prevent dementia.' More on cognitive health: 5 ways to reduce your dementia risk as study estimates U.S. cases could double by 2060 A study on the Mediterranean diet offers the strongest proof yet that it's associated with healthy brain aging It's not just forgetfulness: 8 early warning signs of dementia This story was originally featured on
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Night owls in 9-to-5 jobs may experience more brain fog over time: Here's what science suggests to protect your mind
Are you someone who thrives after sunset, bingeing shows or getting work done when the world sleeps? Well, science might have a wake-up call for you. A recent comprehensive 10-year study involving nearly 24,000 adults has revealed a concerning link between being a night owl and cognitive decline, but with an unexpected twist. Researchers at the University of Groningen tracked participants over a decade and found that night owls faced notably greater cognitive decline compared to early risers. The surprising detail? This pattern didn't appear in individuals with lower levels of education, no matter their sleep habits. (Also read: Cardiologist shares his daily routine for better heart health: '8 hours of sleep, aerobic exercise and balanced eating' ) Among college-educated adults, every hour shift toward a night owl schedule led to a 0.80-point drop in cognitive scores over 10 years, a noticeable dip in mental sharpness for extremely late sleepers. Your chronotype, or natural sleep-wake preference, is guided by your circadian rhythm, the body's internal clock. While around 20 percent of adults lean toward late nights in midlife, only 7 percent are true early birds. The link to education seems to boil down to job flexibility. Highly educated professionals often have rigid 9-to-5 schedules, leaving little room for natural sleep preferences. In contrast, people with less formal education often work varied hours that may align better with their body clocks. When your job forces early wake-ups against your natural rhythm, it creates 'social jet lag', a kind of ongoing biological mismatch. Night owls with strict schedules may feel this more acutely. 'Children are morning people, but that shifts in puberty,' explains lead author Ana Wenzler. 'Most revert to being morning types by 40, but not everyone. Evening people deviate from that norm.' Published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, the study pointed to two main drivers of cognitive decline in night owls: poor sleep and smoking. Among highly educated participants, these explained about a third of the link to brain fog. Night owls often had worse sleep quality, likely due to staying up late but waking early for work, leading to chronic sleep deprivation, which affects the brain's ability to clear harmful proteins tied to Alzheimer's. Surprisingly, smoking accounted for about 19 percent of the decline. Night owls were more likely to smoke, possibly to counter the effects of their disrupted sleep schedules. Alcohol use and physical activity didn't play a significant role despite differences in habits. Approximately one in five American adults naturally prefer late sleep schedules, which means millions, particularly professionals with early-morning routines, could be affected. The study assessed cognitive decline through tests focused on executive function and problem-solving, both essential for adapting to new situations and managing everyday tasks. While the researchers stop short of directly linking this decline to dementia, any measurable drop in cognitive function over a decade is concerning. That said, these findings may open the door to preventive strategies. Flexible work hours could be especially beneficial for highly educated night owls. Allowing later start times for those whose biological clocks favour evening hours may help protect long-term brain health. Additionally, programs aimed at improving sleep quality and supporting smoking cessation could play a key role. Since these two factors accounted for 25 percent of the cognitive decline observed, addressing them may significantly reduce risk. Previous research has consistently emphasised the critical role of sleep in maintaining optimal brain function. This study reinforces the idea that our natural sleep preferences may carry real cognitive consequences, particularly when they clash with daily schedules. For those navigating structured early-morning environments despite an evening chronotype, the goal should not be to override biology but to work with it or minimise the long-term strain of resisting it.
Arab Times
29-05-2025
- Health
- Arab Times
Night owls face greater risk of cognitive decline than early risers
NEW YORK, May 29: Individuals who regularly stay up late and go to bed late—commonly known as night owls—are more likely to experience faster cognitive decline than early risers, according to new research from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). The study, conducted by researcher Ana Wenzler, is part of the national BIRD-NL project, which explores strategies to prevent dementia as the population ages. Wenzler emphasizes that while biological predispositions play a role, some risks can be reduced through behavior changes. 'The good news is that this decline can be partly influenced by behavior,' said Wenzler, who focuses her research on dementia prevention. 'After the age of 40, the brain naturally begins to deteriorate. Our goal is to identify lifestyle or environmental factors that can lower the risk.' Wenzler's study examines the concept of chronotype, which refers to a person's natural tendency to be active at certain times of day. Using data from the long-term Lifelines health study, researchers analyzed participants' sleep patterns and classified them from early risers to night owls based on self-reported sleep habits. The team then tracked changes in cognitive function over a 10-year period by comparing test scores from the beginning and end of the study. The results revealed that night owls were more likely to experience a sharper decline in cognitive abilities. Wenzler noted that this group tends to engage more frequently in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking, poor diet, and lack of exercise—especially during evening hours. 'About 25% of the cognitive decline we observed can be attributed to smoking and poor sleep,' she said. Interestingly, the findings were most pronounced among highly educated individuals, likely due to job constraints that force early waking despite a late chronotype. 'This mismatch can lead to insufficient sleep, depriving the brain of necessary rest,' Wenzler explained. She also noted the natural shifts in chronotype over a lifetime. While most people begin as morning types in childhood, many shift toward evening habits during adolescence and gradually revert to morning tendencies by their 40s. However, some adults remain night owls, which places them outside the biological norm. Wenzler advises individuals to avoid working against their body's natural clock whenever possible. 'Going to bed earlier doesn't help if your body hasn't begun producing melatonin. It simply won't be ready to sleep,' she said. She pointed out that some jobs, particularly in hospitality or shift work, may offer more flexibility for evening types, allowing better alignment with natural sleep rhythms. 'Without that flexibility, the brain suffers from a lack of rest, increasing the likelihood of unhealthy behaviors. Offering later start times could significantly benefit night owls,' she suggested. The UMCG team is now investigating whether night owls also face a higher risk of developing dementia later in life. 'While faster cognitive decline in midlife doesn't necessarily lead to dementia, we want to understand the long-term implications better,' Wenzler said. 'Ultimately, our research aims to offer practical advice to help people reduce their dementia risk.'
