Latest news with #nightowl
Gizmodo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
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.
Washington Post
22-06-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Solution to Evan Birnholz's June 22 crossword, ‘What Keeps Me Up at Night'
I've had bad sleep habits since I was a child. I pulled my first all-nighter at age 12, when I frantically tried to finish a work of short fiction for a school writing contest. Ever since then I've been a night owl, staying up well past any reasonable hour virtually every week to finish assignments in high school and college and graduate school, or crosswords in my professional life now, or sometimes for no good reason at all (once you fall into a YouTube rabbit hole, it can be hard to climb out). For the past three decades, a night where I went to bed before 2 a.m. has been the exception rather than the norm.
News.com.au
20-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Shock': Traveller reveals everything wrong with Australia
If you're like me and you've returned from Ho Chi Minh City after weeks of seeing 'Open 24 hours' signs plastered on every establishment and you're now wondering why you can't get a late-night feed that's not a McDonald's burger – you're not alone. After spending a year soaking up the fast-paced, late-night energy of some of Asia's busiest cities, Sydney woman Fiona Wang thought she'd feel comforted coming home. Instead, she found herself wandering empty footpaths after 5.30pm and not being able to get in to see the doctor on a weekend. 'How do Australians do this?' she said in a social media clip. The 29-year-old business owner and self-proclaimed 'travel-addict' recently returned to Australia after living in Bali, and says the adjustment back to Aussie life has been a culture shock in ways she didn't expect. 'If you're working 9-5, everything is closed by 5.30pm and doctors aren't open on Sundays. 'In Asia you can still contact the banks after 5pm, you can go to the mall 'till 10pm – you can do anything you need to,' she said. Like Fiona, I too had grown used to the 24-hour pharmacies, late-night bar spots and restaurants buzzing well into the early hours. But even mundane errands have now become a mission. 'Back here, I can't even send things by post unless I go during lunchtime,' she added. Amen, Fiona. Though she still loves to call Australia home, the 29-year-old admits she 'needs half-half.' A quick Google search returns results of like-minded night-owls all in pursuit of the answer to this very same question. 'Why does everything in Australia close so early?' In a very brutal Reddit take, one user questioned: 'Does no one like making money in Australia? Or do they just close early to go home and complain about the cost of living? Trying to get food after 9pm is impossible, and don't even get me started on AusPost opening hours.' 'Cafes closing at 1pm needs to be studied,' replied one user. Tim Bennett, insurance expert at Finder told 'We need to be more than a nation of coffee shops at 2pm to deserve the label of a top cultural destination.' 'There's a clear tension between the desire for a vibrant, attractive night-life that draws tourists and boosts local economies, and concerns about public safety and noise,' he said. 'Australian cities absolutely can have both safe and peaceful, while vibrant and world famous entertainment districts, but it requires genuine financial support for venues to make accommodations, protections from noise complaints, and good city planning to get people home safely. 'It also requires an acceptance from residents, especially in existing entertainment districts, that this is part and parcel of living in the inner cities.' Whether Australia is a nation with a rumbling night-life underbelly that's waiting to emerge or one that's permanently transfixed by early morning run clubs and matcha is yet to be seen – but until then, Ho Chi Minh is always ready for a good time.
