Don’t be an owl – Late sleepers have a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease

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Morning types who are active early on rely more on body fat as an energy source and are more insulin sensitive

Late night sleepers may be at greater risk for various conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, than early risers because their bodies more efficiently use their fat as an energy source and also respond better in the action of insulin, according to a new American scientific research.

A person’s so-called chronotype, i.e. whether he is generally a night or morning type, affects his activity and sleep cycle within 24 hours, which has implications for his metabolism and health in general.

His researchers Rutgers University in New Jersey, led by Professor Steven Mullin, who studied 51 overweight middle-aged people for a week and made the relevant publication in the Journal of Experimental Physiology “Experimental Physiology“, they found that those who stay up late at night, have a reduced ability to use their body fat as energy, as a result of which lipids increase in their body and thus increase the cardiovascular risk, for diabetes etc.

The metabolic differences between the two basic chronotypes – the etiology of which is still not fully explained – relate to how well a person can use the hormone insulin to facilitate their cells using glucose as an energy source. Morning types who are active early, rely more on body fat as an energy source, and are also more sensitive to insulin.

On the other hand, night types – also known as “owls” – use less fat overall both at rest and during exercise, while showing greater insulin resistance. Therefore their bodies need more of this hormone to lower their blood sugar (glucose) levels, while their bodies also tend to use more carbohydrates than fats as an energy source.

Mullin said, “The differences in fat metabolism between morning and night types show that our body’s circadian rhythm, the wake/sleep cycle, can affect how our bodies use insulin. A sensitive or, on the contrary, a reduced ability to respond to the hormone insulin has significant effects on our health. “Because chronotype appears to have an impact on our metabolism and hormonal activity, we believe that chronotype can be used as a predictor of a person’s disease risk.”

“We also found that morning types are more physically active and have better fitness levels than night types who are more sedentary during the day,” he added.

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