If you’re someone who has your best quality time after midnight and ‘blooms’ during it, it’s time to pay attention to your health.

According to a CNN article, a new study has found that those who stay up late may be more likely to develop heart disease. But experts say there are steps you can take to protect your health.

This study analyzed data from more than 322,000 adults who self-identified their chronotype, and according to Dr. Sina Kianersi, lead study author and postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, said chronotypes reflect a person’s “natural preference for sleep timing and daily rhythms,” whether they are early risers, night sleepers, or somewhere in between.

Adults with an evening chronotype, and potentially early risers as well, may are at high risk because their internal biological clock does not match work schedules and other external factors.

However, according to the American Heart Association there are eight essential life factors that are related to eating healthy, being active, not smoking, getting high quality sleep and managing weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.

Kianersi said there is a strong link between night owls and poor cardiovascular health, as they were more likely to have unhealthy habits or risk factors, such as poor diet, little exercise or smoking. The link was even stronger for women.

Since this study focused on middle-aged and older adults, Kianersi also said more studies are needed to determine whether the same patterns hold for younger people.

“Being an evening chronotype is often associated with other factors that may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as irregularities in the timing of sleep, meals and light exposure,” he said. Sabra Abbott, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She was not involved in the study.

There is still hope if you are a night sleeper, as Dr. Kianersi suggests aiming for enough sleep by keeping sleep schedules as stable as possible, trying to get some exposure to morning light, getting regular physical activity, being rigorous with routine blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar checks and quitting smoking remains one of the most powerful steps to protect long-term heart health.

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Source: prizrenpost