Night owls at a greater risk of depression due to sleep and lifestyle factors

Mindfulness, total quality of sleep and alcohol consumption can help explain why people who stay late have a greater risk of depression, according to a new study published on March 19, 2025 Plos a By Simon Evans of the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, and colleagues.

Previous research has shown that the nocturnal orls that remain late, called “evening chronotypes”, have more symptoms of depression than people who are early elevators, or “morning chronotypes”. In the new study, Evans and his colleagues collected data from 546 university students using an online questionnaire. Data included self -depressed information on students’ sleep habits, mindfulness, rumination trends, alcohol consumption and depression and anxiety levels.

The study confirmed that people with an evening chronotype were at a significantly higher risk of depression and that the association could be explained by full consciousness, the quality of sleep and alcohol consumption. On average, the evening chronotypes had a lower quality of sleep, higher alcohol consumption and acted with less awareness than the morning chronotypes.

The study was limited in its ability to prove the cause and the effect because of its transverse design which was based on data at one time. In addition, the results may not apply to age groups outside university students included in the study.

With these warnings in mind, the authors conclude that interventions aimed at mindfulness, sleep and alcohol consumption could have the potential to reduce the risk of depression, in young adults in particular.

The authors add: “With many young adults with poor mental health, these study results are particularly important, many young adults tend to stay late and the results indicate how interventions could be implemented to reduce their risk of depression.“”