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Individuals show variation in their preference for the daily timing of activities. In this study the authors analyzed whether chronotypes associate with sleep duration and sleep-related complaints. The authors used the National FINRISK Study 2007 Survey data on 3696 women and 3162 men, representative of the Finnish population aged 25 yrs and older,...
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Context 1
... distribution of chrono- types across sleep-duration groups by sex is shown in Table 2. Short sleepers were more prevalent among E-types than M-types in men, but not in women. However, the prevalence of long sleepers was signifi- cantly higher in E-types than M-types among both women and men (Figure 2). Figure 3 shows that among long sleepers there is a clear tendency towards eveningness (F 5 = 10.7, ...
Context 2
... experience of insufficient sleep was more prevalent among E-types than M-types in the crude analyses (Table 2). Expectedly, insufficient sleep was associated with shorter sleep durations (Figure 2) and older age. Importantly, the significant association of the E-types with insufficient sleep was preserved after adjustment for sex, age, and sleep duration in the multinominal logis- tic regression model predicting experience of sufficient sleep (Table 3). ...
Citations
... For instance, the Polish version of the rMEQ also showed no gender differences, mirroring the results of the current study [30]. In contrast, some studies suggest that the morningness chronotype is more prevalent among females [58], while others indicate that males are more likely to report having a morningness chronotype [59], or that gender has no signi cant correlation with chronotypes [60], which aligns with the ndings of the current study. Given these con icting results, further research into the association between gender and chronotypes is recommended. ...
Introduction: Individual differences in sleep-wake cycles give rise to 'morningness-eveningness' or 'chronotypes'. Chronotype preferences are governed by internal circadian rhythms and influenced by external cues. The assessment of chronotypes is essential for understanding these preferences, and the Reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ) has been developed for this purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the Arabic rMEQ's psychometric properties in terms of validity, reliability and measurement invariance in young adults.
Methods: Three hundred thirty Arabic-speaking participants from the general population of Lebanon, comprising 67.3% females with a mean age of 21.75 ± 2.43 years (range: 18-33), were recruited for this study. The participants were asked to fill out an online questionnaire consisting of the Arabic versions of the rMEQ, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Lebanese Anxiety Scale (LAS).
Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated a modest fit for the one-factor model of the rMEQ. Internal reliability was good, with ω = .75 and α = .70. Additionally, cross-sex invariance analysis showed support for configural, metric, and scalar invariance, with no significant differences in rMEQ scores between males and females. Concurrent validity revealed significant moderate correlations between higher rMEQ scores and lower depression, better sleep quality, and lower anxiety.
Conclusion: The Arabic version of the rMEQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in a Lebanese young adult population. The CFA results support a one-factor model, suggesting that the Arabic rMEQ measures the same underlying construct as the original version. Overall, the Arabic rMEQ appears to be a valid and reliable tool for evaluating morningness-eveningness in Arabic-speaking young adults, with potential applications in cross-cultural chronotype studies.
... Several previous studies have confirmed that evening-type subjects are associated with sleep disturbance. [13][14][15][16][17][18] Poor sleep quality and sleep disturbances in the evening chronotype may be due to substance abuse such as alcohol, 19 and misalignment between social time and internal circadian clock. Young adults are also vulnerable to sleep disturbances due to the presence of curricular load and school schedule without considering their morningness-eveningness balance. ...
Background: Circadian preference refers to individual differences for mental and physical activity in the morning and evening. We hypothesized, that inadvertent use of electronic media can cause circadian misalignment that influences sleeping habits and sleep quality of young adults. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of circadian preferences on sleeping habits and the association of electronic media use with sleep quality and sleep disturbances. Materials and Methods: A total of 188 subjects were enrolled and divided into three groups: Evening, intermediate, and morning chronotype based on the Morningness-Eveningness score. Electronic media use at bedtime and duration of use were assessed subjectively. Sleep quality and subjective sleep disturbances, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype were assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Score, and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire Self-assessment version, respectively. Results: The majority of subjects with the evening chronotypes suffered from poor sleep quality compared to other chronotypes and the difference was statistically significant. In evening-type subjects, electronic media use at bedtime, long sleep latency, short sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness were significantly associated with poor sleep quality with odds ratios of 2.34 (1.08–5.08), 11.42 (4.98–26.19), 8.54 (1.01–68.24), and 1.68 (1.03–2.73), respectively. Conclusion: The majority of evening-type subjects had poor sleep quality, altered sleeping habits, and electronic media use at bedtime is significantly associated with poor sleep quality. Hence, history regarding sleep habits and lifestyle, especially electronic media use, should be taken from young adults, who are coming to the outpatient department for other than sleep disorders, to prevent the development of health-related problems.
... Another previous report that those with evening preference had lower adherence to the Baltic Sea diet score and were more often smokers (men), were physically inactive, and had lower perceived health than those of other chronotypes (P < 0.05) (34). Furthermore, those with evening preference experienced insomnia symptoms, had nightmares, and had used recently hypnotics significantly more often than other chronotypes among both men and women (35). These previous reports suggest that regarding lifestyle guidance for patients with low testosterone levels, caution should be practiced regarding recommending evening preference, taking into consideration the effects that lifestyle can have on the mind and body. ...
Low testosterone levels in men have been linked to decreased physical and mental function, as well as a reduced quality of life. Previous prospective observational studies have suggested an association between testosterone and sleep traits, but the causality of this relationship remains unclear. We aimed to explore the potential causal link between genetically determined sleep traits and testosterone levels in men using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis from the UK Biobank dataset. Our exposures were genetic variants associated with sleep traits (chronotype and sleep duration), whereas our outcomes were traits of sex steroid hormones (total testosterone, TT; bioavailable testosterone, BAT; and sex hormone-binding globulin, SHBG). We employed inverse variance weighted (IVW) and weighted median (WM) methods to assess the causal associations. The IVW method offers a robust estimate of causality, whereas the WM method provides reliable results even when some genetic variants are invalid instruments. Our main analysis involving sex steroid hormones and chronotype identified 155 chronotype-related variants. The primary findings from the analysis, which used chronotype as the exposure and sex steroid hormones as the outcomes, showed that a genetically predicted chronotype score was significantly associated with an increased levels of TT (association coefficient β, 0.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02–0.14; P = 0.008) and BAT (β, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.02–0.14; P = 0.007), whereas there was no significant association with SHBG (β, 0.01; 95% CI, −0.02–0.03; P = 0.64). Meanwhile, MR analysis of sex steroid hormones and sleep duration was performed, and 69 variants associated with sleep duration were extracted. There were no significant association between sleep duration and sex steroid hormones (TT, P = 0.91; BAT, P = 0.82; and SHBG, P = 0.95). Our data support a causal association between chronotype and circulating testosterone levels in men. These findings underscore a potential causal relationship between chronotype and testosterone levels in men, suggesting that lifestyle adjustments are crucial for men’s health. Recognizing factors that influence testosterone is essential. One limitation of this study is the use of one-sample MR, which can introduce potential bias due to non-independence of genetic associations for exposure and outcome. In conclusion, our findings indicate that a morning preference is correlated with circulating testosterone levels, emphasizing the potential impact of lifestyle habits on testosterone levels in men.
... myelin maintenance and turnover) are upregulated, and relatedly, sleep loss disrupts WM-associated gene transcription (Bellesi et al., 2013;Cirelli et al., 2004;de Vivo & Bellesi, 2019). Third, evening chronotype might be marker of chronic sleep loss and might therefore predict perturbed WM integrity (Merikanto et al., 2012;Roepke & Duffy, 2010). Fourth, it has been hypothesised that a major function of sleep is to maintain healthy WM (de Vivo & Bellesi, 2019). ...
Protecting brain health is a goal of early intervention. We explored whether sleep quality or chronotype could predict white matter (WM) integrity in emerging mental disorders. Young people ( N = 364) accessing early‐intervention clinics underwent assessments for chronotype, subjective sleep quality, and diffusion tensor imaging. Using machine learning, we examined whether chronotype or sleep quality (alongside diagnostic and demographic factors) could predict four measures of WM integrity: fractional anisotropy (FA), and radial, axial, and mean diffusivities (RD, AD and MD). We prioritised tracts that showed a univariate association with sleep quality or chronotype and considered predictors identified by ≥80% of machine learning (ML) models as ‘important’. The most important predictors of WM integrity were demographics (age, sex and education) and diagnosis (depressive and bipolar disorders). Subjective sleep quality only predicted FA in the perihippocampal cingulum tract, whereas chronotype had limited predictive importance for WM integrity. To further examine links with mood disorders, we conducted a subgroup analysis. In youth with depressive and bipolar disorders, chronotype emerged as an important (often top‐ranking) feature, predicting FA in the cingulum (cingulate gyrus), AD in the anterior corona radiata and genu of the corpus callosum, and RD in the corona radiata, anterior corona radiata, and genu of corpus callosum. Subjective quality was not important in this subgroup analysis. In summary, chronotype predicted altered WM integrity in the corona radiata and corpus callosum, whereas subjective sleep quality had a less significant role, suggesting that circadian factors may play a more prominent role in WM integrity in emerging mood disorders.
... Chronotype in uences sleep status. Merikanto et al. (31) showed that late-chronotype people more frequently feel deprived of sleep, are more vulnerable to insomnia, tend to consume sleep aids, and suffer from nightmares. In addition, when early and late-chronotype individuals work at night and in the morning, respectively, sleep duration and quality decline (32). ...
Background. Chronotype influences general health. Among the early, intermediate, and late chronotypes, the latter is positively associated with psychological problems. However, longitudinal studies on the topic are relatively limited. We assessed the association between chronotype and the mental health of adolescents, focusing on depression and somatic symptoms by cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.
Methods. This longitudinal study relied on data from the KCYPS (Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey), which targeted middle school students. The sample consisted of 1,882 students who were assessed annually over a span of four years, from 2018 to 2021. The main exposure variable, chronotype, was determined by analyzing participants' sleep onset and wake times. The outcome variables, depression and somatic symptoms, were evaluated using the SCL-90 (Symptom Checklist-90) for depression and an emotional or behavioral problems questionnaire for children to assess somatic symptoms. Multilevel linear regression analysis was conducted both concurrently and prospectively, with gender stratification.
Results. Late chronotype was found to be associated with depression and somatic symptoms within the same year (Depression β=0.062, p=<.001; Somatic symptoms β=0.056, p=.018), and it also proved predictive of somatic symptoms one year later (β=0.055, p=.019). In males, insufficient sleep exacerbated the adverse effects of late chronotype on depression one year later (β=0.100, p=.042), and late chronotype was a predictor of somatic symptoms one year later (β=0.072, p=.024). On the other hand, in females, late chronotype was only correlated with depression and somatic symptoms within the same year (Depression β=0.061, p=.025; Somatic symptoms β=0.075, p=.005).
Conclusions. The late chronotype exhibited a negative impact on depression/somatic symptoms and proved to be predictive of somatic symptoms one year later. In females late chronotype was only concurrently related to mental health but in males it could predict mental health a year later, with moderation of insufficient sleep. These results provide insight into the relationship between chronotype and somatic symptoms and suggest that the negative impact of chronotype on the mental health of adolescents can be modulated.
... Evidence from population-based studies has established higher health-related risks, particularly in Evening-types, ranging from sleep problems to higher odds for mental symptoms and disorders, spinal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic disorders (Fabbian et al., 2016;Merikanto et al., 2012Merikanto et al., , 2013Merikanto et al., , 2015Taylor & Hasler, 2018). Insufficient sleep accumulating especially on workdays (Merikanto & Partonen, 2020) as well as poor sleep quality elevate the odds of mental disorders among Evening-types ; Van den Berg et al., 2018;Zhou et al., 2021). ...
... Circadian rhythms of the body affect daytime functioning in all ages and constitute the backbone of our somatic and mental wellbeing. It is crucial to understand how changes in circadian type during adulthood influence health status, particularly when assessing symptoms and disorders that differ in prevalence between circadian types (Fabbian et al., 2016;Merikanto et al., 2012). Therefore, the aim of our study is to examine the circadian stability, and whether changes in the self-assessed circadian type during mid-adulthood influence sleep and mental health problems in a general adult population cohort from 42 years of age to 52 years of age both in cross-section and longitudinally. ...
Objetivo: Generalmente se observa un cambio hacia la Vespertinidad en el comportamiento circadiano de sueño-vigilia desde la niñez hasta la adolescencia, pero se sabe menos sobre los cambios circadianos durante la edad adulta. Los cambios circadianos durante la mediana edad son de gran interés, ya que la Vespertinidad se asocia con una variedad de problemas relacionados con la salud, incluidos síntomas psicológicos y trastornos mentales. En este estudio, examinamos la estabilidad circadiana a lo largo de diez años, de 42 a 52 años de edad, y cómo se asoció con el sueño y la salud mental en un seguimiento de cohorte de la población general finlandesa (n = 976). Métodos: El tipo circadiano se evaluó en ambas edades con un ítem ampliamente utilizado para la autoestimación de Matutinidad/Vespertinidad del cuestionario original de Horne-Östberg de Matutininidad-Vespertinidad. Se utilizaron ecuaciones de estimación generalizadas para analizar cómo un cambio en la Matutinidad/Vespertinidad se asociaba longitudinalmente con el sueño y la salud mental. Resultados: Nuestros hallazgos indican que el tipo circadiano es un rasgo muy estable durante la mediana edad, con cambios principalmente moderados en el 42.2% de los adultos y ningún cambio circadiano en el 57.8% de los adultos. La mayoría de los cambios ocurrieron dentro del mismo tipo circadiano (23.9%), en segundo lugar después de los cambios entre tipos circadianos moderados (13.3%). Los cambios entre los tipos Definitivos Vespertinos y Matutinos fueron muy raros (0.5%). Los del tipo Vespertino estable informaron más falta de sueño, discrepancia entre la duración del sueño en los días laborables y libres, y depresión en comparación con los del tipo Matutino estable. Los cambios moderados hacia la Matutinidad, que comprenden principalmente aquellos dentro del tipo Matutino, se asociaron con una reducción de angustia y síntomas psicológicos. Conclusiones: En conclusión, nuestros hallazgos muestran una alta estabilidad del tipo circadiano de la edad adulta media. Sin embargo, los cambios hacia la Matutinidad parecen estar asociados con una mejor salud mental.
... However, the evolution of modern technological lifestyles has led to a swift transition towards a prevailing "eveningness" [6,7], which seems to have become more prevalent in recent decades [8]. In a national study in Finland, ET subjects were estimated to comprise 11%-13% of the adult population [9]. A Chinese study found that the proportion of evening types was 14.64% [10]. ...
... Being an ET is additionally associated with worse sleep quality and a range of sleep-related complaints [6]. Compared to MTs and NTs, ETs have a higher prevalence of sleep disorders [9]. ...
... Merikanto used the National FINRISK Study 2007 Survey data (which included 3696 women and 3162 men, representative of the Finnish population aged 25 years and older), to assess chronotype. ET, NT, and MT rates were 11% ,38%, and 51% amongst men in this population, according to MEQ scores [9]. Liu et al. also recently performed a chronotype survey in a Chinese population using MEQ. ...
Purpose: The aim of the study was to estimate the distribution and prevalence of chronotypes among prisoners who are forced to follow a uniform routine, and to examine the relationship between chronotype, insomnia, and depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional sample of male prisoners in China.
Methods: A total of 1609 male inmates from a men’s prison in Hebei Province, China, participated in this study by completing the Morning and Evening Questionnaire-5 (MEQ-5), Insomnia Index (ISI), and Depression Scale-9 (PHQ-9). Age, time served, insomnia, and depressive symptoms were compared among chronotypes. Binary logistic stepwise regression was used to analyze the factors influencing depression. Additionally, a simple mediation model which included MEQ-5, ISI, and PHQ-9, was analyzed while controlling for age as a covariate.
Results: The prevalence of morning types (MT), neutral types (NT), and evening types (ET) was 47.1%, 46.8%, and 6.1%. Being an ET was significantly associated with younger age and increased symptoms of insomnia and depression (P < 0.05). The relative risk of depression was 2.970-fold (95%CI, 1.724 to 5.116; P < 0.001) higher for ET compared to MT. Mediation analysis showed that insomnia partially mediated the relationship (effect=-0.242, SE=0.030, CI: -0.301 to -0.183) between chronotype and depression and that the direct effect of chronotype on depression was also significant (effect=-0.247, SE=0.034, CI:-0.314 to -0.180).
Conclusions: The prevalence of ET is relatively low in male prisoners. Chronotype have direct effect on depressive symptoms, resetting the late timing of ET may have a positive impact on depression.
... A mismatch between innate sleep-wake rhythm and environmental schedules (e.g., working at night) or exposures (e.g., late-evening blue light delaying sleep) contribute to sleep complaints, poorer daytime functioning, and health issues such as depression and cardiovascular diseases 41 . However, the risk of this mismatch and its consequences may be relative to an individual's innate circadian types, i.e., chronotype, and evening types (E-types) are at a greater risk than morning types (M-types) 8,22,31,35,40 . E-types' top alertness centres are in the evenings, and the timing of their physiological functions is later than those of M-types, who best function in the mornings 12,48 . ...
... It also investigated the moderating effects of mental health disorders, insomnia, and chronic MSK pain in the chronotype-pain sensitivity associations, as these factors may be at interplay with chronotype and pain sensitivity according to previous literature 1,20,21,27,29,36,37,40,46,51,54,62 . The analyses were conducted for females and males separately, as females show greater pain sensitivity than males 4,13 , and due to the observed sex-differences in the distribution of chronotypes (i.e., E-types are more often females than M-types) in the general Finnish population 35 . We hypothesized that E-types have lower J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f pressure pain thresholds and tolerance than M-types among both sexes, but that the strength of the associations would be different between males and females. ...
... We hypothesized that E-types have lower J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f pressure pain thresholds and tolerance than M-types among both sexes, but that the strength of the associations would be different between males and females. We had no strong prior hypotheses about the moderating role of mental health disorders, insomnia, or chronic MSK pain in these associations, but hypothesized that mental health disorders and/or insomnia would interact with the E-type-pain sensitivity associations given that these phenomena are emphasized among E-types 35,40 and in pain 54 . ...
... Morning types typically have no problem waking up early in the morning and they become sleepy relatively early in the evening, whereas evening types typically struggle with waking up early in the morning and function at their best relatively late in the day (Adan et al. 2012;Rumble et al. 2018;Zhang et al. 2015). Several studies show that evening types report more sleep problems and psychopathology than both morning and intermediate types (Kivela et al. 2018;Melo et al. 2017;Merikanto et al. 2012Merikanto et al. , 2022Rumble et al. 2018;Zhang et al. 2015). In a recent study conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, evening types reported shorter nighttime sleep duration, poorer sleep quality, more sleep onset problems, more excessive sleepiness, more fatigue, and more insomnia symptoms than morning types (Merikanto et al. 2022). ...
... It is assumed that sleep of sufficient duration and quality will reduce the risk of infections (Besedovsky et al. 2019; Lee and Glickman 2021; Robinson et al. 2021), but studies are few. Since evening types and shift workers often complain of sleep problems, such as short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and circadian misalignment (Makarem et al. 2020;Merikanto et al. 2012Merikanto et al. , 2022, we expected an association with infections. In the same sample of Norwegian adults, we recently showed that participants with short sleep duration (<6 hours), sleep debt, and insomnia were all associated with higher odds of reporting various kinds of infections (Bjorvatn et al. 2023). ...
Disturbed sleep and circadian disruption are reported to increase the risk of infections. People with an evening circadian preference and night workers typically report insufficient sleep, and the aims of the present study were to investigate possible associations between various types of infections and circadian preference and shift work status. Data were collected from an online cross-sectional survey of 1023 participants recruited from the Norwegian practice-based research network in general practice - PraksisNett. The participants completed questions about circadian preference (morning type, intermediate type, evening type), work schedule (day work, shift work without nights, shift work with night shifts), and whether they had experienced infections during the last three months (common cold, throat infection, ear infection, sinusitis, pneumonia/bronchitis, COVID-19, influenza-like illness, skin infection, gastrointestinal infection, urinary infection, venereal disease, eye infection). Data were analyzed with chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses with adjustment for relevant confounders (gender, age, marital status, country of birth, children living at home, and educational level). Results showed that evening types more often reported venereal disease compared to morning types (OR = 4.01, confidence interval (CI) = 1.08-14.84). None of the other infections were significantly associated with circadian preference. Shift work including nights was associated with higher odds of influenza-like illness (OR = 1.97, CI = 1.10-3.55), but none of the other infections. In conclusion, neither circadian preference nor shift work seemed to be strongly associated with risk of infections, except for venereal disease (more common in evening types) and influenza-like illness (more common in night workers). Longitudinal studies are needed for causal inferences.
... Besides, studies have shown that eveningness profiles are more likely to report sleep deprivation and poorer sleep quality (Barclay et al., 2010;Buysse et al., 1989;Johns, 1991;Kivelä et al., 2018;Merikanto et al., 2012), and both stress level and sleep quality have been identified as important risk factors for TMDs (Minghelli et al., 2014;Özdinç et al., 2020). In addition to the above evidence, a recent systematic review concluded that chronotype may be a risk factor for the incidence of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (Butler et al., 2023;Zhai et al., 2021). ...
Background
Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) are common in young adults, and the link between chronotype profile and TMDs is unclear.
Objective
This study examined TMD prevalence and chronotype distribution and explored the relationship between chronotype and TMDs in young adults.
Materials and Methods
A total of 663 students from Sichuan University completed questionnaires. Chronotype profiles were assessed using the Morningness‐Eveningness Questionnaire, and TMDs were screened using the Fonseca Memory Index. To validate the findings, 68 TMD patients and 136 controls were enrolled.
Results
The prevalence of TMDs was 69.7%, with significant differences among chronotype profiles. The intermediate profile was the most common chronotype. Eveningness profile was associated with higher TMDs prevalence and severity. Muscle pain and side movement difficulty scores were higher in eveningness and intermediate profiles. Female gender (OR 2.345; 95% CI 1.668–3.297) was a TMD risk factor, while morningness profile (OR 0.537; 95% CI 0.297–0.970) was protective. Validation with TMD patients and controls supported these findings, showing higher eveningness profile prevalence in the TMD groups.
Conclusions
TMDs have a high prevalence in college students, chronotype profiles shown to be associated with TMDs. Morningness is the protection factor in TMDs and PT, eveningness is a risk factor for IT.
