Summary: A new study finds that staying up late, known as having an “evening chronotype,” is associated with a higher risk of depression. Researchers analyzed data from 546 university students and found that this link is influenced by sleep quality, alcohol consumption, and mindfulness levels.
Evening chronotypes had poorer sleep, consumed more alcohol, and exhibited lower mindfulness compared to morning chronotypes. The study suggests that these factors may contribute to mental health risks in young adults.
Key Facts:
- Sleep Quality Matters: Evening chronotypes reported poorer sleep, affecting mental health.
- Mindfulness Connection: Lower mindfulness levels were linked to higher depression risk.
- Alcohol Impact: Late sleepers consumed more alcohol, further increasing depression risk.
Source: PLOS
Mindfulness, total sleep quality, and alcohol consumption may help explain why people who stay up late have a greater risk of depression, according to a new study publishing March 19, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Simon Evans of University of Surrey, UK, and colleagues.
Previous research has shown that night owls who stay up late, called “evening chronotypes,” have more depression symptoms than people who are early risers, or “morning chronotypes.”
In the new study, Evans and colleagues collected data from 546 university students using an online questionnaire. The data included self-reported information on the students’ sleep patterns, mindfulness, rumination tendencies, alcohol use, and depression and anxiety levels.
The study confirmed that people with an evening chronotype were at a notably higher risk for depression and that the association could be explained by differences in mindfulness, sleep quality, and alcohol consumption. On average, evening chronotypes had poorer sleep quality, higher alcohol consumption, and acted with less mindfulness than morning chronotypes.
The study was limited in its ability to prove cause-and-effect because of its cross-sectional design which relied on data at only one time point. In addition, the findings may not apply to age groups outside of the university students included in the study.
With those caveats in mind, the authors conclude that interventions aimed at mindfulness, sleep and alcohol use might have the potential to reduce depression risk, amongst young adults in particular.
The authors add: “With many young adults’ experiencing poor mental health, these study findings are particularly important—many young adults tend to stay up late and the results point to how interventions could be implemented to reduce their risk of depression.”
About this sleep and depression research news
Author: Hanna Abdallah
Source: PLOS
Contact: Hanna Abdallah – PLOS
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Mindfulness mediates the association between chronotype and depressive symptoms in young adults” by Yatagan Sevim G et al. PLOS ONE
Abstract
Mindfulness mediates the association between chronotype and depressive symptoms in young adults
Background
Chronotype influences risk of depression, with evening-types at higher risk, although the reasons for this are uncertain. Potential mediating factors include mindfulness, sleep quality, rumination, and alcohol consumption, but research is lacking.
Methods
We explored the role of these factors in the association between chronotype and depressive symptoms amongst young adults, using cross-sectional data collected from a university student sample (N = 546).
Results
Evening-types had significantly higher levels of depression symptoms, poorer sleep quality, and lower levels of ‘acting with awareness’ and ‘describing’, as well as higher rumination and alcohol consumption. Mediation analyses demonstrated that the link between chronotype and depression was fully mediated by ‘acting with awareness’, ‘describing’, sleep quality, and alcohol consumption.
Limitations
Only subjective measures were employed, and due to the cross-sectional design, no causal inferences can be made.
Conclusion
The mediation results shed light on the crucial role of specific mindfulness facets, sleep, and alcohol consumption for explaining why evening types are at higher risk of depression; findings have import for potential interventions aiming to reduce depression risk amongst young adults in particular.
