People who go to bed at this time get the most exercise — it's not about how much they sleep but when
It's bad enough that night owls are more at risk for dementia, depression and diabetes.
Now, a new study — published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) — suggests they can also forget about that sunrise jog they keep promising to take.
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A new study clearly suggests your bedtime — not your sleep duration — significantly impacts how much moderate-to-vigorous physical activity you get the next day.
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Researchers assessed the sleep habits and exercise levels of almost 20,000 people who wore the health and fitness tracker WHOOP for one year, taking into account how long they slept and when they went to bed.
You might assume that sleep duration matters more than bedtime since getting those six to eight hours of quality rest increases your probability of feeling motivated and energized enough to hit the ground running when you wake up.
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But, surprisingly, researchers found that wasn't the case.
People who went to bed around 9 p.m. did about 30 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity the following day than those who hit the hay at 1 a.m.
The early birds pumped out 15 more workout minutes compared to those who tucked in at 11 p.m. — the average bedtime for participants — even when the total sleep duration was the same.
Why? Experts believe societal norms can put night owls at a disadvantage when it comes to mental — and, as it turns out, physical — health.
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9 p.m. seems to be the sweet spot if you're looking to work out longer the next day, the study revealed.
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'Standard 9-to-5 routines can clash with the natural sleep preferences of evening types, leading to social jetlag, poorer sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness — which can all reduce motivation and opportunity for physical activity the next day,' Josh Leota, a research fellow at Monash University's School of Psychological Sciences, said in a statement.
Sleep specialist Dr. Dylan Petkus previously told The Post that 'although early birds do better with societal norms like traditional 9-to-5 jobs, health-wise, both can be equally healthy as long as they get enough sleep and stick to a consistent schedule.'
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That being said, he noted that people who go to bed between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. tend to have the best sleep quality.
If that's not you — experts recommend gradually dragging up your bedtime by 15 minutes until you hit your sweet spot.
Meanwhile, Leota believes the study's findings have 'meaningful implications for public health.'
'Rather than just promoting sleep and physical activity independently, health campaigns could encourage earlier bedtimes to naturally foster more active lifestyles,' he said.
'A holistic approach that recognizes how these two essential behaviors interact may lead to better outcomes for individual and community health.'
And don't forget that while doing a few quick exercises before bed can help you sleep longer, working out within four hours of bedtime can mess with your sleep.
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New York Post
4 days ago
- New York Post
People who go to bed at this time get the most exercise — it's not about how much they sleep but when
The early bird gets the workout. It's bad enough that night owls are more at risk for dementia, depression and diabetes. Now, a new study — published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) — suggests they can also forget about that sunrise jog they keep promising to take. Advertisement A new study clearly suggests your bedtime — not your sleep duration — significantly impacts how much moderate-to-vigorous physical activity you get the next day. Syda Productions – Researchers assessed the sleep habits and exercise levels of almost 20,000 people who wore the health and fitness tracker WHOOP for one year, taking into account how long they slept and when they went to bed. You might assume that sleep duration matters more than bedtime since getting those six to eight hours of quality rest increases your probability of feeling motivated and energized enough to hit the ground running when you wake up. Advertisement But, surprisingly, researchers found that wasn't the case. People who went to bed around 9 p.m. did about 30 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity the following day than those who hit the hay at 1 a.m. The early birds pumped out 15 more workout minutes compared to those who tucked in at 11 p.m. — the average bedtime for participants — even when the total sleep duration was the same. Why? Experts believe societal norms can put night owls at a disadvantage when it comes to mental — and, as it turns out, physical — health. Advertisement 9 p.m. seems to be the sweet spot if you're looking to work out longer the next day, the study revealed. Drazen – 'Standard 9-to-5 routines can clash with the natural sleep preferences of evening types, leading to social jetlag, poorer sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness — which can all reduce motivation and opportunity for physical activity the next day,' Josh Leota, a research fellow at Monash University's School of Psychological Sciences, said in a statement. Sleep specialist Dr. Dylan Petkus previously told The Post that 'although early birds do better with societal norms like traditional 9-to-5 jobs, health-wise, both can be equally healthy as long as they get enough sleep and stick to a consistent schedule.' Advertisement That being said, he noted that people who go to bed between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. tend to have the best sleep quality. If that's not you — experts recommend gradually dragging up your bedtime by 15 minutes until you hit your sweet spot. Meanwhile, Leota believes the study's findings have 'meaningful implications for public health.' 'Rather than just promoting sleep and physical activity independently, health campaigns could encourage earlier bedtimes to naturally foster more active lifestyles,' he said. 'A holistic approach that recognizes how these two essential behaviors interact may lead to better outcomes for individual and community health.' And don't forget that while doing a few quick exercises before bed can help you sleep longer, working out within four hours of bedtime can mess with your sleep.
USA Today
4 days ago
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Scientists find a 'dangerous feedback loop' in sudden sea ice melt
Over the past few years, researchers have discovered dramatic and "unexpected" shifts in the Southern Ocean, with saltiness rising and sea ice in steep decline. It's about as remote as it gets, yet what happens in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica impacts all of us. And what's going on down there? Over the past few years, researchers have discovered dramatic and "unexpected" shifts in the Southern Ocean, with saltiness rising and sea ice in steep decline, according to a new study. It matters, researchers say, because losing Antarctic sea ice is a planetary problem: "If this salty, low-ice state continues, it could permanently reshape the Southern Ocean – and with it, the planet," said study lead author Alessandro Silvano of the University of Southampton in a statement. "The effects are already global: stronger storms, warmer oceans, and shrinking habitats for penguins and other iconic Antarctic wildlife," he said. Record low sea ice Since 2015, Antarctica has displayed record-low sea ice extent, according to the study, which appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In fact, since 2015, Antarctica has lost sea ice equal to the size of Greenland – the largest environmental shift seen anywhere on Earth in the last few decades. The Southern Ocean is also getting saltier, and this unexpected change is making the problem worse. 'Saltier surface water allows deep ocean heat to rise more easily, melting sea ice from below," Silvano said. "It's a dangerous feedback loop: less ice leads to more heat, which leads to even less ice." What is sea ice? Sea ice is frozen ocean water that melts each summer, then refreezes each winter. Antarctic sea ice is typically at its smallest in late February or early March, toward the end of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Sea ice loss – especially in the Arctic but also in the Antarctic – is one of the clearest signals of global warming, the National Climate Assessment reported in 2018. In addition to human-caused warming of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, multiple factors – including the geography of Antarctica, the region's winds, as well as air and ocean temperatures – affect the ice around Antarctica. Maud Rise polynya opens up The dramatic loss of sea ice around Antarctica has occurred with the re-emergence of the Maud Rise polynya in the Weddell Sea – a huge hole in the sea ice nearly four times the size of Wales, which hadn't occurred since the 1970s, the study reports. A polynya is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. 'The return of the Maud Rise polynya signals just how unusual the current conditions are," Silvano said. Penguins rely on sea ice In Antarctica, it's penguins that rely on sea ice. Due to the dramatic loss of sea ice there, several colonies of emperor penguins face "quasi-extinction" in the decades to come, a study released in 2023 reported. More: With hurricane season brewing, Pentagon stops sharing satellite weather data Satellite data will be cut off Alberto Naveira Garabato, co-author of the study from the University of Southampton, said, 'The new findings suggest that our current understanding may be insufficient to accurately predict future changes.' However, the U.S. Defense Department is cutting off weather forecasters from data gathered by its special satellites that can "see" through the clouds. "(The new study) makes the need for continuous satellite monitoring all the more pressing, so we can better understand the drivers of recent and future shifts in the ice-ocean system,' Garabato said.
Gizmodo
5 days ago
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Scientists Uncover Exercise Lifehack: Go to Bed
As if you needed another reason to envy—or loathe—morning people. Research this week shows that people who go to bed early are more likely to be physically active than those who crave the night. Scientists at Monash University in Australia led the study, which objectively examined people's sleeping and exercise habits. Compared to late-night and typical sleepers, people who went to bed early tended to perform more physical activity the following day, they found. The findings also suggest that tweaking our bedtimes can indirectly help us stay more active, the researchers say. 'Going to sleep earlier than usual may be an effective strategy to maintain normal sleep duration while also optimizing next-day [physical activity],' the authors wrote in their paper, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Being a Night Owl Might Raise Your Diabetes Risk Regularly getting a good night's sleep and exercising are both vital keys to better overall health. But according to the researchers, it's still unclear exactly how these two aspects of our lives can interact with each other. The team was particularly interested in finding out whether the timing of people's sleep can affect their exercise time, too. They analyzed data from two earlier studies that tracked people's waking and non-waking activity via wearables. In the first study, roughly 20,000 participants wore an activity tracker for an entire year, meaning the researchers had data covering roughly six million nights of sleeping. Across the whole sample, people's average bedtime was around 11 p.m. Early sleepers were classified as people who turned in for bed around 9 p.m., whereas late sleepers went to bed around 1 a.m. Compared to late sleepers, early birds clocked 30 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on average, the researchers found; they also exercised about 15 minutes more than the typical sleeper. These patterns remained stable when the researchers analyzed data from the second study that involved almost 6,000 people who wore FitBits. Though the study isn't intended to answer why night owls might exercise less, the researchers have their educated guesses. 'Standard 9-to-5 routines can clash with the natural sleep preferences of evening types, leading to social jetlag, poorer sleep quality, and increased daytime sleepiness—which can all reduce motivation and opportunity for physical activity the next day,' said lead author Josh Leota, a scientist at Monash's Sleep and Circadian Rhythms research program, in a statement from the university. Social Jetlag Is Real—and It's Worse for Your Health Than You Think Our sleeping habits are influenced by many factors that aren't easily adjusted, including the hours we work and our genetics. But there might be some hope for late birds who would like to exercise more. The researchers also found that people who slept earlier than their typical time, while still sleeping the same amount of hours as usual, tended to perform more physical activity the next day. In other words, it should be possible to work on our sleep and get more workout time all at once. And the researchers say that public health groups should try to emphasize both if possible. 'Rather than just promoting sleep and physical activity independently, health campaigns could encourage earlier bedtimes to naturally foster more active lifestyles. A holistic approach that recognizes how these two essential behaviors interact may lead to better outcomes for individual and community health,' said Leota. I'm all for getting more beauty rest and gym time. But I will draw the line at 5 a.m. morning runs, just FYI.
