Night owls, namely people who stay up
until very late, respond less well to stress and are more likely
to develop risky behaviours such as smoking and drinking than
early risers, research from the University of Pisa conducted on
a sample of 120 healthy adults has found. The study is published
in Chronobiology International and the lead author is Francy
Cruz Sanabria.
"Analyzing sleep-related behaviors and habits over the years has
shown that we are not all the same," noted the study's
coordinator Ugo Faraguna of the University of Pisa. "About 15
percent of people can, in fact, be defined as owls, that is,
they are more active at night, stay up later in the evening and
have difficulty in the morning," he explained. "Conversely,
about 15 percent tend to wake up very early and make the most of
the early hours of the day, the so-called larks," he added.
The researchers found that owls have a lower capacity to respond
to traumatic or stressful events, such as bereavement or family
separation, with responses sometimes resulting in risky
behaviors such as smoking or drinking. Bracelets designed by the
start-up Sleepacta at the University of Pisa were used to
monitor sleep quality.
For Faraguna, this research is a first step towards raising
awareness of the importance of sleep quality, "just as happened
with blood pressure monitoring to reduce risks of circulatory
problems."
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