Stay up late.. and die early Calls for ‘night owls’ to get flexible hours

“NIGHT OWLS” are at higher risk of dying early compared to “morning people”, a study has found.

The six-year project discovered people who stay up late and struggle to get out of bed had a 10% higher risk than morning “larks” of being dead by the end of it.

Experts who worked on the study said employers should let night owls start work later.

They also called for a debate about whether the shift to daylight saving time should be abolished.

Malcolm von Schantz, of the University of Surrey, said: “This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored. “We should discuss

Working late allowing evening types to start and finish work later where practical.”

Researchers at Surrey and Northwestern

University, in Illinois, studied 433,268 participants. About 50,000, or 12%, were evening types, with a higher chance of

dying. Of the total 10,534 deaths, 2,127 were linked to heart disease. The paper, published in the journal Chrono-biology International, found night owls had higher rates of diabetes, psychological problems and neurological disorders such as brain tumours and cerebral palsy. Prof Kristen Knutson, of Northwestern, said: “There are a variety of unhealthy behaviours related to being up late in the dark.”