Why life’s early risers may get pregnant more easily
WOMEN who are morning larks could find it easier to become pregnant than night owls, research has shown.
Early risers are more likely to conceive when trying for a baby, according to a study of 102 women who used IVF.
Researchers asked women what time they naturally went to sleep and woke up, then followed them as they tried to start a family.
Almost three- quarters of the larks fell pregnant, but only a third of night owls. The study authors believe ‘morning people’ may have better chances of getting pregnant because they tend to be healthier, get more exercise, eat better and have fewer illnesses.
The larks in the study had a midpoint of sleep between 2.30am and 3.30am – after going to bed around 10.30pm before waking naturally at 6.30am. Professor Geraldine Hartshorne, of the University of Warwick research team, said: ‘By and large, larks are more likely to have a healthy lifestyle than night owls. They are less likely to smoke, to be overweight and to suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular disease – all of which could make it harder to fall pregnant.
‘Healthy lifestyles are already discussed with women trying to conceive, but thinking about whether you are a lark or a night owl might be another way to change lifestyle habits which affect the chances of conceiving.’
Researchers established women’s natural body clocks by asking them about sleep times on non-working days – when an alarm clock did not force them out of bed. The biggest night owls in the study had a sleep mid-point of 6am, suggesting they naturally fell asleep around 2am and woke at 10am. The three-year study followed the women through their first IVF attempt to see if they became pregnant.
Across the whole group, 54 per cent of women, aged 23 to 45, conceived. But the larks had a 73 per cent success rate. Only a third of night owls achieved a pregnancy.
An earlier study from Finland involving 2,000 women found larks had an almost 50 per cent lower chance than normal sleepers of finding it difficult to get pregnant.