By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 12:51 BST, 10 June 2019 | Updated: 12:52 BST, 10 June 2019
View
comments
'Night owls' could get their sleeping patterns on track with just 11 lifestyle tweaks, research suggests.
A study found people who typically nod off at 2.30am can bring their bedtime forward by two hours simply by eating lunch at the same time every day, consuming nothing after 7pm and maximising light exposure in the mornings.
Going to bed up to three hours earlier than normal, getting up at the same time every day and banishing coffee after 3pm also helps.
Not only does this help night owls nod off, it also reduces feelings of stress and depression, the study found.
'Night owls' could get their sleeping patterns on track with just 11 lifestyle tweaks (stock)
The research was carried out by Monash University in Melbourne, alongside the universities of Birmingham and Surrey.
It was led by Dr Elise Facer-Childs, of Monash's Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health.
'Our research highlights the ability of a simple non-pharmacological intervention to phase advance "night owls", reduce negative elements of mental health and sleepiness, as well as manipulate peak performance times in the real world,' Dr Facer-Childs said.
Night owls are thought to have body clocks that cause them to fall asleep and wake up at later times than what is considered normal.
These sleep disturbances have been linked to everything from mood swings and cognitive decline to higher rates of disease and even an early death.
Study co-author Dr Andrew Bagshaw, of the school of psychology at the University of Birmingham, said: 'Having a late sleep pattern puts you at odds with the standard societal days, which can lead to a range of adverse outcomes.
'We wanted to see if there were simple things people could do at home to
