Increased depression, poor sleep quality and higher alcohol intake — is your late night worth it?

While many studies have proven the link between mental health and sleep, this latest research from the University of Surrey proves how significant the impact our bedtime has on our quality of life.

We often use the terms ‘night owl’ and ‘early bird’ to describe our natural inclination to sleep and wake up. These are chronotypes and every person has a slightly different internal body clock.

While trying to change your chronotype is generally not encouraged, there is more and more evidence to suggest that night owls could benefit from an earlier bedtime.

Here, we’re looking deeper into the latest research to find out why evening people are more likely to experience depression, have a higher alcohol intake and poorer sleep quality.

Key takeaways from the study

• Evening chronotypes had significantly more depressive symptoms when compared to morning and intermediate chronotypes
• Evening chronotypes had significantly poorer sleep quality
• Alcohol consumption was significantly higher in evening-types

The study from the University of Surrey looked at 546 participants and their sleep. Of this group, 256 were evening chronotypes.

Each participant was assessed using questionnaires that looked at alcohol consumption, chronotype, mindfulness, sleep quality, rumination and depression.

The results found that not only did sleep quality decrease for those with an evening chronotype, but alcohol intake and depression levels were higher, while mindfulness was lower.

To determine the chronotype, the study used the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ).

This asks a series of questions that considers more than just your bedtime, and helps to establish whether your circadian rhythm peaks earlier in the day or later. Generally, evening chronotypes will have a bedtime after 12am.

The risks of being a night owl

So, why is being a night owl linked to these traits and experiences? We’re looking at the three key takeaways from the study in more detail.

Poorer sleep quality

It’s no surprise that this research has highlighted poor sleep quality associated with later bedtimes.

While previous studies have proven the same, we can also understand this link in terms of the sleep stages. We experience around 3-5 sleep cycles every night, made up of sleep stages.

We experience most of our ‘deep sleep’ early in the night, while later in our sleep, and during the early hours of the morning, REM sleep occurs.

By going to bed later, you delay your REM sleep onset, making it more likely that you won’t get enough restorative REM sleep.

The research also looked at the concept of social jet lag as an explanation of poor sleep quality.

“Since evening chronotypes’ biological rhythm is misaligned with daily work/study routines, their sleep quality necessarily suffers and a ‘sleep debt’ is accumulated,” the study reports.

Increased depression

Following this, the increase in depression is not surprising. “Sleep debt, as well as daytime sleepiness, has been shown to mediate the relationship between eveningness and depression among young adult university students,” the study says.

Long term, poor sleep quality can lead to sleep deprivation, which has a significant impact on mental health, increasing the likelihood of both depression and anxiety.

The study also found that staying up later into the night provided students with extra time to ruminate, which could potentially increase symptoms of depression.

Higher alcohol consumption

A possibly more surprising link is the study’s revelation that night owls generally have a higher alcohol intake.

The research explains that “this is because alcoholic beverages are often consumed late at night rather than early in the day.”

Alcohol significantly impacts sleep quality. While the initial sedative effects make it easy to fall asleep, you’ll spend more time in light sleep, rather than the more restorative stages, like deep sleep and REM.

This means your nighttime awakenings will increase and you won’t feel as well rested the next day.

3 steps to fix your sleep schedule

If you regularly find yourself staying up until the hours of the morning, read our guide on how to fix your sleep schedule. But for now, here’s our three top tips.

1. Shift your sleep by 20 minutes every day

Rather than forcing yourself to go to bed early and lying awake for hours, gradually shifting your sleep and wake times can be more effective.

Start by waking up 20 minutes earlier than you normally would, then go to bed 20 minutes earlier than your normal bedtime.

Everyday, shift another 20 minutes earlier until you’ve reached your desired bedtime.

2. Avoid naps

As you get used to your new alarm, you might feel sleepy during the day. However, you should try to resist the urge to nap.

While naps can be effective in boosting your energy, they can also reduce your build-up of sleep pressure throughout the day.

This can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, meaning you could revert back to your late bedtime again.

3. Get plenty of natural daylight

Sunlight is one of the most important factors that regulate our circadian rhythm. This is our internal body clock that determines when we feel energy peaks and dips.

Natural daylight, especially morning sunlight, boosts our production of cortisol and serotonin, which are key in regulating our sleep-wake cycle.

It also means that when it becomes dark in the evenings, we’ll produce more melatonin (the sleepy hormone,) helping us fall asleep faster, even with an earlier bedtime.