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Is It Better to Be a Night Owl or Early Bird?

You may fall into one category or the other, or you could be a hummingbird. This is what sleep experts want you to know about it


split illustration showing an owl on a clock hand against a starry night sky on the left and a songbird on a clock hand against a sunny morning sky on the right
Kyle Hilton

Dr. Constance Fung considers herself to be a night owl but has always wanted to be an early bird. 

“I always envision myself getting up really early and exercising and having everything done before the sun gets up,” says Fung, a sleep medicine physician with training in geriatrics and a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “But then usually it doesn’t turn out like that.” 

Everyone has a natural preference for when they prefer to sleep or be awake, known as chronotype, Fung says. 

Your chronotype reflects how your circadian rhythm, or your body’s 24-hour internal clock, is timed. The clock regulates sleep and other processes, like digestion and hormone release. Light influences circadian rhythm, but your chronotype — which also determines when you’re at your peak alertness and energy level — might not align with the sunrise and sunset. 

Some people’s internal clocks are naturally shorter, while others’ are longer, Fung says. 

Those with shorter circadian rhythms tend to be early birds, or morning larks — they naturally fall asleep and wake up earlier and feel most active and alert earlier in the day, says Dr. David Kuhlmann, a sleep medicine physician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who’s an early riser.

People with longer circadian rhythms tend to be night owls, as they prefer to fall asleep and wake up later, he says, and they’re at their peak in the late evening or at night.   

Most people are considered intermediate, not really falling into either extreme. Where you fall on the chronotype spectrum is influenced by several factors, including genetics and lifestyle, Fung says. 

Is one type better than the other? Here’s what sleep experts want you to know.

What makes you an early bird or a night owl?

Genetics is the strongest predictor, says Dr. Brienne Miner, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine who specializes in geriatric and sleep medicine. Genes regulate your sleep-wake cycles by dictating when your brain releases the hormone melatonin, which controls circadian rhythm.    

“So a lot of people are sort of born that way,” says Miner, who’s a morning person. 

Lifestyle factors play a role too. For instance, working unconventional hours, such as shift work, can disrupt natural circadian rhythms, says Dr. Joseph Giaimo, a sleep medicine physician and past president of the American Osteopathic Association. He considers himself a “hummingbird,” someone who floats between being an early bird and a night owl.

Age can also lead to a shift in chronotype, says Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences (sleep medicine) at Stanford Medicine. In adolescence, people often become night owls but begin going to sleep and waking up earlier as they get older. 

Scientists aren’t exactly sure why this happens, Zeitzer says, but it’s likely a combination of biological changes and behavioral factors. And your body adapts to these changes, Giaimo says. 

Biologically, the brain’s master internal clock, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which regulates your circadian rhythm, can weaken with age, affecting the timing and quality of sleep, Kuhlmann says. The rise and fall of the hormones melatonin and cortisol throughout the day also shift earlier as we age, Fung says. 

Melatonin levels naturally decrease with age and can get out of line with your circadian rhythm, shifting your sleep-wake cycle. Your body typically releases cortisol in the morning, signaling that it’s time to wake up, but the timing of its release may change when you get older, which affects sleep.

You may adopt new behaviors as you get older, which can affect your circadian rhythm. For example, if you’re retired and don’t need to get up at a certain time, you might decide to stay up later, disrupting your normal sleep-wake routine, Kuhlmann says. Being less active can also affect the cycle. 

Sleep often becomes more fragmented with age. You may wake up to use the bathroom during the night, struggle with chronic pain or take naps during the day — which can affect your sleep schedule, Giaimo says.  

Also, sleep disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, REM sleep behavior disorder and circadian rhythm disturbances, are more prevalent in people over 65. 

Does your chronotype affect your health?

It’s said that the early bird catches the worm, and there may be some truth to that. A few studies suggest that getting up earlier is associated with better health, Fung says. 

A 2024 study, coauthored by Zeitzer and published in Psychiatry Research, involved nearly 74,000 “middle- and older-age adults.” It found that, overall, earlier sleep schedules are better for mental health, regardless of chronotype. Researchers recommended going to sleep by 1 a.m. for healthy aging, no matter what your preference.

“Staying up late is associated with worse health, and that probably has to do with being up late kind of facilitates behaviors that are not conducive to good health,” Zeitzer says. 

You may feel more social isolation when you’re up late alone, for instance, or you might stare at your screen into the wee hours, snack on junk food or drink too much alcohol, which could harm your health. 

Being a night owl may affect your heart too. A study published last month in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that adults, ages 39 to 74, who consider themselves “evening people” or night owls were 79 percent more likely to have higher poor cardiovascular health scores, compared with those with intermediate chronotypes (their natural sleep rhythm falls between the early birds and the night owls). The night owls were at a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke, and the risk was greater for women than men. 

This new research followed a 2021 study published in the European Heart Journal that involved more than 88,000 subjects ages 37 to 73, and found that those who went to sleep after midnight were more likely to have heart disease. 

Early birds are often more active first thing in the morning, which can improve overall health, Giaimo said. This is associated with better cognitive functioning and lower depression rates in aging, according to a 2022 study published in JAMA Psychiatry

In another win for the early birds, a new study of about half a million people with an average age of 57 found that being an early bird was associated with about a 20 percent lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), compared with being a night owl. The preliminary study is being presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting this April. (The study does not prove cause and effect; it only shows a link to the behaviors.)

But there’s some nuance in how chronotype affects your health. A study published in Nature Communications in December 2025 identified five distinct early bird and night owl subtypes, each with distinct behaviors and health outcomes. 

The research suggested that among night owls, some have more emotional-regulation challenges but perform well on cognitive tests. Others were more prone to risk-taking behaviors and had cardiovascular health problems. A third group was more likely to experience depression, smoke and have a higher risk of heart disease.

For early birds, one group had the fewest health problems overall, but another was associated with depression.

Is it better to be an early bird or a night owl?

“I don’t think we know that” for sure, Miner says. 

What’s most important is that “we just need to follow our inherent circadian rhythm and stick to it,” Kuhlmann says. In other words, Miner says, “let your body sleep when your body wants to sleep.”

Routine is key, Kuhlmann says. This means going to bed and getting up at the same time every day. And getting the appropriate amount of sleep, which is seven to nine hours, Miner says. 

Sleeping at appropriate times also matters, Kuhlmann says. Being asleep during unconventional hours, such as 4 a.m. to noon, could disrupt your circadian rhythm, for example. 

You should feel rested when you wake up. As long as you do — and you generally follow a healthy lifestyle — “lark versus night owl, I don’t think there’s one better,” Kuhlmann says.

How to get up earlier

People who want to change their chronotype usually want to wake up earlier. “I haven’t really met a whole lot of people trying to get themselves to stay up later,” Kuhlmann says. 

To become an early bird, Miner says, “expose yourself to light in the early morning.” 

Do this by raising the shades or going outdoors soon after waking, Zeitzer says. While sunlight is most effective, he says light therapy lamps can help if it’s still dark when you wake. 

About 30 minutes to an hour of light exposure every morning will encourage your internal clock to shift earlier, Zeitzer says. But you have to be consistent, he adds: “Otherwise, your system is going to snap back.” 

Going to bed earlier will usually help you wake up earlier. To help with this, avoid eating for about two hours, and consuming caffeine for at least six hours, before bedtime, Giaimo says. Exercise earlier in the day and stop scrolling your phone a couple of hours before bed. 

If you struggle to fall asleep, wake up frequently overnight or feel sleepy during the day, talk to your doctor, Giaimo says. And if you never feel refreshed in the morning, even after sleeping eight hours, an “evaluation by a sleep doctor would be a good idea,” Kuhlmann says. 

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