Night Owls Eat Less Healthfully Than Morning People Do

A pointless article that only confirms what we already know. Obviously a night owl will typically each less healthy food because of their schedule. At late night people don't want apples or granola bars- they are awake because they have work to do and need the sugar to get it done.

-American college student, Biology Major

Did this study just look at what people eat and not how it affects their health? Usually, the point of a study like this would point out differences, if there is evidence, that there is a correlation between sleep habits, diet and health. I don't see any of that here. The control factors are the same for both groups, yet there is no mention of obesity, illnesses or diseases related to eating according to your sleep habits. So really, the way this is written, it looks like night people can eat foods "that are higher in sugar and lower in fiber, carbohydrates, and fats, including saturated fats… on weekends eat significantly more sugar and fats, have more irregular mealtimes and eat meals and snacks twice as often as morning people." and still be just as healthy. Am I missing something or is this just a poorly written article that's meant to make morning people look superior? As this is written, this article actually says the opposite.

"Too Late To Die!" is what it said on the i-shirt of the worm that slept in.

So, living up north by the Artic Circle, I wonder how the Finns deal with 18-hr nights? Must eat a lot of chips.
[I love that illustration.]

During my working life , I was forced to rise a little after 6:00am. I was stressed all day. I am now retired and my natural inclination is to retire around midnight and rise around 8. I am a full dress size smaller now, due to a consistent vigorous exercise routine and stress reduction. I have never been healthier or happier with my new schedule.

I enjoyed reading the comments here more than I enjoyed the article. It's good to be reminded that in other parts of the world, the 'night life' is not considered odd. Is our prejudice against nocturnal types a hold-over from a Puritan ancestry? I probably don't eat the way nutritionists say I should. I eat a pretty healthy dinner--almost always including a salad--but I do so around 9 p.m. I'm never hungry when I wake up. So my whole schedule is late! It feels normal to me.....

How many of the people in the study lived in a peaceful, quiet environment compared to a noisy one? I live in an apartment right now and the most peaceful, restful time is 10 pm and after. I work p/t now and wake half the week by 6 a.m. and the rest I doze on and off until 9. I try to stay awake later in order to take advantage of the peaceful, quiet evening/nighttime. I have the same breakfast everyday (a healthy blender shake) and typically consume the same foods each day whether I wake early or late -- so I don't fit in the study it would seem. I think this was a very poorly constructed and executed study; there are just too many variables.

Will someone give me a medal if I wake up early? I stay up late, love it, and I eat healthy.

I am 76 I have been a night owl all my life, most of my early rising men friends are dead or in nursing homes.Women are doing better. I don't claim this as evidence of anything other than to do what is natural for you. I stay up late because that when I feel emotionally and physically the best. I eat late night snacks because I ate at 6 or 7 and by midnight I am hungry. I am pretty sure the anxiety caused by The Trump will cause far more deaths than staying up and having some tasty high fat food.

Or we can move to the Mediterranean and not live the crazy American "lifestyle" ...

Can night owls adapt? Not in my case. ...until retirement. There is no changing circadian rhythm, and personally, I don't consider being a night owl a sleep disorder. I have far kess anxiety when I can rest in my own time. Late nights are very peaceful.

It is absolutely not always half environment, half genetics. People who have circadian rhythm sleep disorders are not late night people by choice. This is a very glib and silly article.

Early risers are seen as superior people in the American culture. If you go to Spain, people are eating dinner at midnight.

I'm a morning person and a night person. For most of my life I've been up at 5AM and to bed at 1 or 2 AM. When I worked for the telephone company I averaged 23 hours a week in overtime. For a while I drove from outside Philadelphia to the Bronx and still worked overtime. I was self employed for 30 years and kept the same hours.
I'm now 65 and still keeping the same hours. I stay busy all day on household projects and an occasional job for an old customer who doesn't want another vendor.
I'm about 20 pounds overweight but that's more due to the neuropathy from back injuries than anything else.
Thank God for You Tube and old movies.

Is this supposed to make readers draw the conclusion that early risers are inherently healthier eaters? Because that seems like a far fetched generalization.

"...higher in sugar and lower in fiber, carbohydrates and fats, including saturated fat." How is something higher in sugar but lower in carbohydrates...?

And don't get me started on the "fats" issue.

Once again in the Larks v. Owls scenario, the early risers are bathed in the glow of virtue whilst the late nighters skulk in shadows. "Healthier lifestyle choices" exist for all. Now ... back to Seth Meyers.

People treat nutrition almost like religion. We tend to stick to the dogmatic, even though erroneous, nutritional knowledge that we have acquired. Because of my own experience, I have decided to choose fats-centered diet (including saturated fats) instead of carbs-centered diet. The informed people by now know that animal fats are nutritious unless they include hormones or omega-6 fats. I eat glass-fed cow butter as an energy source for the large intestine including colon since I feel that this part of my gut is getting old for the digestion of fibers to make enough butter-like short chain fats for its own energy source. The latest diet suggestions are cutting cabs sharply and eating more fats as an alternative energy source because blood sugar (glucose and fructose) are major cause of degenerative diseases like atherosclerosis, dementia, type-2 diabetes, fatty liver, cancers etc. Since I started my new diets that include detoxification nutrition, my inflammation level in my entire body including my brain has become near zero according to C-reactive protein of 0.10 (acceptable range below 0.8 mg/dl) and Albumin/Globulin ratio 1.8 (acceptable range 1.0-2.5). My doctor suggests to take statin as usual because my total cholesterol has gone up to 299 (HDL 68, LDL 209), but my triglyceride has gone down to 103. I refuse to take statin because triglyceride/HDL ratio is 1.5 (acceptable range below 2.0) and I don't have vascular inflammation much based on CRP result.

Sugar and carbs yes, are bad for you. But fat? No. Please don't publish articles based on bad science.

It would be nice to know percentages of morning and evening types in human race.

Is it 50 -50 or something different.

I ask this as I live in india where70% of folks appear to be evening types.

In India, it's rare for an Indian to start work before 10:00 a.m.

Restaurants rarely serve dinner before 8:00 pm.

And I have gone out with friends for dinner at 10:30 pm and folks are still arriving with kids in tow.

No wonder, in india diabetes is a big killer - not to mention obesity.

Stop the early bird propaganda. Some of us like staying up late! Why does everyone need to make us feel bad about? It's ruining my life.

It's 9:47 as I read this. I've just consumed a Pop- Tart and a bowl of ice cream...for dinner. If's a "good" night, I'll fall asleep after Seth Myers. And try to get up for work by 6:30 am. They needed a study for this? Next time call me-- I'll be up!

I am continually amazed that researchers assume that eating fat is as bad or even worse for you than eating sugar. There is nothing wrong with eggs for breakfast, people. When I switched to low carb (necessarily more of my calories came from fat since there is only just so much lean protein you can eat), my weight went down as did my blood pressure. My triglycerides, you ask? They plummeted.

Also, irregular meal times, especially on weekends, can mean that you are waiting to be hungry before eating. How is that a terrible thing?