TUESDAY, June 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Regardless of natural tendencies, going to bed later is associated with poorer mental health, according to a study published online May 19. Psychiatric Research.
Dr. Renske Locke of Stanford University in California and colleagues assessed how chronotype, sleep duration, and the relationship between the two affect mental health. The analysis included a cohort of community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults (73,888 adults) participating in the UK Biobank.
The researchers found that compared with morning types and early behaviors (congruent), morning types and late behaviors (incongruent) had a significantly higher risk of mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders (MBN), depression, and anxiety. Evening types and early behaviors (incongruent) had a significantly lower risk of depression, MBN, and anxiety compared with evening types and late behaviors (congruent). Longitudinal analyses confirmed the cross-sectional findings regarding the likelihood of developing new psychiatric disorders associated with chronotype, behavioral timing, and the congruence between the two. The authors recommended going to bed before 1:00 a.m. regardless of chronobiological preferences.
“Chronotype matching doesn’t matter here, and we find that staying up late is bad for your mental health,” lead author Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, also of Stanford, said in a statement. “Why that is is a big mystery.”
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