The early bird gets the workout.
It’s bad enough that night owls are more at risk for dementia, depression and diabetes.
Now, a new study — published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) — suggests they can also forget about that sunrise jog they keep promising to take.
Researchers assessed the sleep habits and exercise levels of almost 20,000 people who wore the health and fitness tracker WHOOP for one year, taking into account how long they slept and when they went to bed.
You might assume that sleep duration matters more than bedtime since getting those six to eight hours of quality rest increases your probability of feeling motivated and energized enough to hit the ground running when you wake up.
But, surprisingly, researchers found that wasn’t the case.
People who went to bed around 9 p.m. did about 30 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity the following day than those who hit the hay at 1 a.m.
The early birds pumped out 15 more workout minutes compared to those who tucked in at 11 p.m. — the average bedtime for participants — even when the total sleep duration was the same.
Why? Experts believe societal norms can put night owls at a disadvantage when it comes to mental — and, as it turns out, physical — health.
“Standard 9-to-5 routines can clash with the natural sleep preferences of evening types, leading to social jetlag, poorer sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness — which can all reduce motivation and opportunity for physical activity the next day,” Josh Leota, a research fellow at Monash University’s School of Psychological Sciences, said in a statement.
Sleep specialist Dr. Dylan Petkus previously told The Post that “although early birds do better with societal norms like traditional 9-to-5 jobs, health-wise, both can be equally healthy as long as they get enough sleep and stick to a consistent schedule.”
That being said, he noted that people who go to bed between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. tend to have the best sleep quality.
If that’s not you — experts recommend gradually dragging up your bedtime by 15 minutes until you hit your sweet spot.
Meanwhile, Leota believes the study’s findings have “meaningful implications for public health.”
“Rather than just promoting sleep and physical activity independently, health campaigns could encourage earlier bedtimes to naturally foster more active lifestyles,” he said.
“A holistic approach that recognizes how these two essential behaviors interact may lead to better outcomes for individual and community health.”
And don’t forget that while doing a few quick exercises before bed can help you sleep longer, working out within four hours of bedtime can mess with your sleep.
