Student study sheds new light on night owl habits

The study said those who stayed up were significantly more likely to drink alcohol

Poor sleep and drinking too much could fuel depression in night owls, research suggests.

A new study by the University of Surrey expands on what is already known about night owls being at higher risk of poor mental health compared to early risers.

Researchers from the university questioned 546 students about sleep patterns, whether people were able to focus on their feelings and thoughts in the present moment (mindfulness), tendencies to ruminate, alcohol use, and depression and anxiety levels.

The authors said with many young adults experiencing poor mental health, the findings were "particularly important".

"Many young adults tend to stay up late and the results point to how interventions could be implemented to reduce their risk of depression," they added.

Researchers say understanding relationships between alcohol consumption, people being night owls or early risers, and depression is "important, but remains understudied".

They said the study set out to investigate the psychological mechanisms that could explain why evening-types were at higher risk of depression.

The study found that night owls were more prone to depression than morning types, and were significantly more likely to ruminate.

Researchers said this backed up previous studies which suggested people were more likely to worry and ruminate at the end of the day.

They also found that early birds were more likely to act with mindfulness, such as they were acting with awareness of their emotions and thoughts.

Those who stayed up were also significantly more likely to drink alcohol and also had poorer sleep, the study found.