Resetting the late timing of ‘night owls’ has a positive impact on mental health and performance

Abstract

Background: There is conflict between living according to our endogenous biological rhythms and our external environment, with disruptions resulting in negative consequences to health and performance. This is often documented in shift work and jet lag, but 'societal norms' (eg, typical working hours) can create profound issues for 'night owls', people whose internal biological timing predisposes them to follow an unusually late sleep-wake cycle. Night owls have also been associated with health issues, mood disturbances, poorer performance and increased mortality rates. Methods: This study used a randomized control trial design aimed to shift the late timing of night owls to an earlier time (phase advance), using non-pharmacological, practical interventions in a real-world setting. These interventions targeted light exposure (through earlier wake up/sleep times), fixed meals times, caffeine intake and exercise. Results: Overall, participants demonstrated a significant advance of~2 h in sleep/wake timings as measured by actigraphy and circadian phase markers (dim light melatonin onset and peak time of the cortisol awakening response), whilst having no adverse effect on sleep duration. Notably, the phase advance was accompanied by significant improvements to self-reported depression and stress, as well as improved cognitive (reaction time) and physical (grip strength) performance measures during the typical 'suboptimal' morning hours. Conclusions: Our findings propose a novel strategy for shifting clock timing towards a pattern that is more aligned to societal demands that could significantly improve elements of performance, mental health and sleep timing in the real world.

Insomnia Mediates the Association between Eveningness and Suicidal Ideation, Defeat, Entrapment, and Psychological Distress in Young Adults

“…However, research on insomnia's effect on subsequent mood and mental health outcomes (e.g., Bernert, Hom, Iwata, & Joiner, 2017;Littlewood et al, 2019) combined with research on chronotype's causal association with poor sleep quality points towards a directional chronotype-insomnia-affect pathway (Bakotic et al, 2017;Facer-Childs et al, 2019;Konjarski, Murray, Lee, & Jackson, 2018). This putative causal relationship is supported by the results of the present study.…”

“…Chronotype is a product of both genetics and environment (Facer-Childs, Middleton, Skene, & Bagshaw, 2019;Hu et al, 2016;Lane et al, 2016), and is expressed as diurnal variations in characteristics such as energy levels, affect, and both cognitive and physical performance (Facer-Childs, Boiling, & Balanos, 2018;Goldstein, Hahn, Hasher, Wiprzycka, & Zelazo, 2007;Merrow, Spoelstra, & Roenneberg, 2005;Miller et al, 2015).…”

Does the Proximity of Meals to Bedtime Influence the Sleep of Young Adults? A Cross-Sectional Survey of University Students

“…The extent to which the current findings can be used to improve sleep in at-risk groups, such as university students and shift workers, is not well known. Altering meal timing appears to result in more effective weight loss in overweight/obese individuals [39], whilst earlier meal timing in conjunction with a regimen of light exposure and earlier sleep-and waketimes appear to be beneficial to cognition and mental health [40]. Thus, given the already known links between poor sleep and health, future studies should aim to further investigate the effectiveness of manipulating meal timing to improve sleep as a way of reducing unfavourable health outcomes.…”

Epigenetic Regulation of Circadian Rhythm and Its Possible Role in Diabetes Mellitus

“…Facer-Childs and colleagues show the ability of a simple non-pharmacological intervention reducing negative elements of mental health and disturbances of sleep by a phase advance of around 2 h. There were significant reductions in subjective ratings of depression and stress. In addition, elements of cognitive (reaction time) and physical (grip strength) performance were significantly improved during 'non optimal' times [8]. There is another new approach to chrono-medicine [105].…”

“…Extreme preferences are morningness and eveningness. The individual preference of daily cycle is set up by a combination of genetic and epigenetic factors and has influence on physical and mental health [8,9]. For example, cortisol levels differ in two chronotypes (early and late).…”