Sleeping habits and patterns have always been important. However, according to a new study, those who are early risers are less prone to develop mental health problems. The study, as quoted by a report in The Guardian, states that early risers are biologically programmed to be less susceptible to depression and schizophrenia and might just be happier than others.

In order to arrive at the result, genetics data of several individuals were examined and participants were asked whether they are a morning or an evening person. After their genomes were analysed, it was revealed that certain genes impact their sleep patterns.

“The large number of people in our study means we have provided the strongest evidence to date that ‘night owls’ are at higher risk of mental health problems, such as schizophrenia and lower mental wellbeing, although further studies are needed to fully understand this link,” Mike Weedon, who led the research said.

“This study highlights a large number of genes which can be studied in more detail to work out how different people can have different body clocks,” Weedon added.

The report states that the link between schizophrenia and body clock is the strongest.

“Our work indicates that part of the reason why some people are up with the lark while others are night owls is because of differences in both the way our brains react to external light signals and the normal functioning of our internal clocks. These small differences may have potentially significant effects on the ability of our body clocks to keep time effectively, potentially altering risk of both disease and mental health disorders”, Samuel Jones, lead author of the paper said. The findings were published in Nature Communications.