Night owl? Staying up late may take a toll on your mental health

Some people have already exercised, showered and had their coffee by 6 a.m. Others would rather not be spoken to at that hour at all. The latter group, often described as “night owls,” tend to feel more alert and productive after the sun goes down, sometimes well into the night. But two studies suggest that preference may come with a cost, particularly when routinely staying up into the early morning becomes a habit. A large Stanford University study involving nearly 74,000 people found higher rates of mental and behavioral disorders, including depression and anxiety, among those who regularly went to bed late. The surprising finding was that the association also appeared among people who identified as night owls — meaning late hours aligned with their natural preference. Based on the findings, the researchers generally recommended trying to fall asleep before 1 a.m.