Is it Bad to be a Night Owl?

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CLEVELAND - We all have nights where we stay up later than we should.

But if you're a night owl by nature, it might be doing more harm to your health than you realize.

“We live in a sleep-deprived society with about 40% of adult Americans getting inadequate sleep. Night owls are particularly at risk for chronic sleep deprivation, which puts our bodies and every organ system at risk for health problems,” said Nancy Foldvary, DO, a sleep specialist for Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Nancy Foldvary explained that night owls often don’t get the rest they need because they go to bed too late.

Over time, this lack of sleep can raise the risk of conditions like depression, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

With this in mind, it’s important to figure out whether bad habits or a sleep disorder are making you a night owl.

Dr. Foldvary said simple things like using your phone or watching TV before bed can keep you up.

It’s also possible to have something called delayed sleep phase syndrome.

“One of the circadian rhythm disorders that'svery common is delayed sleep phase disorder, which is when sleep timing is delayed. The disorder makes it impossible for people to fall asleep at a normal time, so they're sleeping two to four hours later than that. This particularly presents in the pediatric age range and then continues in adulthood,”Dr. Foldvary said.

With different treatments available, Dr. Foldvary stressedit’s crucial to bring up any long-term sleep problems to your doctor.