'Night owls' face higher risk of heart attacks and strokes: Study

(NewsNation) — Adults who tend to stay up late are in for a rude awakening, as a new study has linked “night owl” habits to an increased risk for heart problems.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Wednesday, found that middle-aged and older adults who were more active in the evenings had poorer cardiovascular health, compared to peers who were more active during the day.

Researchers asked more than 320,000 adults between 39 and 74 in the United Kingdom to categorize themselves as being a “definite morning,” “definite evening,” or “intermediate” person. Using these responses, researchers looked at the health metrics of the participants, such as their diet, weight, smoking habits, physical activity habits, blood pressure, cholesterol and other factors to calculate participants’ Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score.

The authors found that “night owls had a 79% higher prevalence of having an overall poor cardiovascular health score.” The study also noted that “night owls had a 16% higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke over a median of about 14 years follow-up, compared to people within the intermediate category.”

But it’s not all bad news for those who go to bed late, as researchers noted that simple shifts in behaviors can improve scores.

“These findings show that the higher heart disease risks among evening types are partly due to modifiable behaviors such as smoking and sleep,” said Dr. Kristen Knutson, who is a volunteer chair of the 2025 American Heart Association. “Therefore, evening types have options to improve their cardiovascular health.”

“Evening types aren’t inherently less healthy, but they face challenges that make it particularly important for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Knutson added.