A new study examines how chronotype may be related to depression. Is the risk of depression greater in “evening types” (“night owls”) or “morning types” (“morning larks”)?
The study involved 200 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 99 years. Results show that people who are “evening types” have a higher risk of severe depressive symptoms.
MSNBC reports that evening types went to bed around midnight; morning types went to bed around 11 p.m. and woke up about 40 minutes earlier. Total sleep time was about the same for the two groups.
The study was unable to show if sleep schedule causes depression. But it suggests that going to bed and waking up a little earlier could improve your mood.
Yet making a change may not be easy; your DNA has a strong influence on when you prefer to sleep.
Learn more about evening and morning chronotypes.