The Morning Myth

CHAPTER 5 Fighting Your Internal Clock Is Harmful to Your Health: Getting Up Too Early Can Actually Give You Diabetes

Yes, you read that correctly: Early rising, for those to whom it is unnatural, can literally give you diabetes. Could this be why we have an explosive epidemic of diabetes in America right now? All because of arrogant people who say things like, “Remember, we’re conscientious”—but not when it comes to night owls’ health, evidently. Oh, and did I mention it can cause heart disease, too?

In any case, medical researchers have uncovered a problem that night owls face. They call it social jetlag.

It’s the result of, you guessed it, night owls being forced to conform to a morning-centric society. And it’s downright harmful for your health. This is why it’s so important to educate employers not only on the loss of productivity caused by forcing night owls to work in the mornings, but also the liability they may face down the road for the resultant health problems.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (I told you I love reading medical studies), entitled “Social Jetlag, Chronotype, and Cardiometabolic Risk,” shows exactly how much we night owls put our health at risk when we’re forced to get up early for work or school.

To quote the study, “Individuals differ in circadian phase preference, known as chronotype, but may be constrained by modern work obligations to specific sleep schedules. Individuals experience social jetlag (SJL) due ...