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Night owls may have a particular late-in-life problem
New York Post • • health
Key Points:
- A Finnish study found that night owls (evening types) have a 1.7 times higher risk of needing to retire early with a disability pension compared to early risers (morning types), based on data from 5,679 individuals in their mid-40s followed over 12 years.
- The increased risk for evening types is attributed to poorer health outcomes and disrupted internal body clocks, which can lead to sleep problems and overall health decline.
- Disability pensions in Finland are granted after severe and long-term health decline, with 5.2% of men and 8.1% of women evening types receiving pensions during the study period.
- The study is observational and cannot confirm causation; researchers call for further longitudinal studies across diverse populations to validate and generalize the findings.
- Despite health risks, night owls may have cognitive advantages, as some research suggests they perform better on cognitive tests.
