Hitting the hay after 1AM raises risks of anxiety and depression

A new study in Psychiatry Research suggests that going to bed after 1 a.m. could raise the risk of mental health problems. The findings indicate that night owls are more prone to depression and anxiety. This research questions the belief that following your natural sleep pattern, or chronotype, is essential for mental well-being.

The New York Post reported that the researchers looked at the sleep habits and mental health of nearly 74,000 adults in the UK. Among the participants, 19,065 were early risers, 6,844 were night owls, and 47,979 were somewhere in between. Surprisingly, the key finding was that being up late, regardless of your chronotype, is not beneficial for mental health.

Senior study author Jamie Zeitzer, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, explained to the outlet, "We found that alignment with your chronotype is not crucial here, and that really it’s being up late that is not good for your mental health. The big unknown is why."

Evening types who adhered to their late-night routines were 20% to 40% more likely to have a mental health disorder diagnosis compared to those who followed an earlier or more intermediate sleep schedule. On the other hand, those waking up early generally had better mental health.

Researchers speculate this may correlate with the "mind after midnight" hypothesis, which suggests that staying awake past midnight could increase the risk of impulsive and harmful behavior. Zeitzer elaborated, "If I had to hazard a guess, morning people who are up late are quite cognizant of the fact that their brain isn’t working quite right, so they may put off making bad decisions. Meanwhile, the evening person who is up late thinks, 'I’m feeling great. This is a great decision I’m making at 3 o’clock in the morning.'"

Experts universally recommend getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Zeitzer suggests that night owls should try to shift their sleep schedules to earlier times, even though it might contradict their natural inclinations. "Biologically speaking, it’s very much like a rubber band—you take a day off, and you snap back to where your body wants to be," he said.

However, the study's findings come with some limitations. Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula, a sleep medicine professor at the University of Pennsylvania, mentioned to HuffPost that many of the participants were white and middle-aged or older. The chronotype was determined based on a simple participant questionnaire, which might not be the most comprehensive assessment method.

"The way [researchers] decided which chronotype you are came from a single question, although they did use one that has been validated," said Gurubhagavatula, who was not involved with the study, but told the outlet. "But typically how we assess morningness or eveningness is with a much more thorough questionnaire that has a lot more detailed questions."

This new research indicates that going to bed by 1 a.m. or earlier could lower the risk of mental health problems, suggesting that an earlier bedtime might benefit everyone, regardless of their natural sleep preferences. Further studies are needed to fully understand why staying up late can negatively affect mental health, but for now, shifting sleep schedules earlier could be a proactive step for better mental well-being.