If you want to have a baby in 2019 you should probably start getting up earlier, as a study has found early risers get pregnant more easily than night owls.
The research, carried out by the University of Warwick at NHS hospitals in Coventry and Warwickshire, looked at the sleeping patterns of more than 100 women who were trying to conceive through IVF.
They found 75% of those who woke up early (some as early as 5.30am) were successful in getting pregnant, compared to less than 30% of those with a late bedtime and late rising.
Participants were asked by researchers when they usually fell asleep and typically woke without the aid of an alarm.
The latest sleepers had a preferred bedtime of around 2am and would sleep till 10am, while the earlier risers were getting up around five hours before.
The researchers, who presented the findings at the annual conference of the British Fertility Society, suggested the reason for this difference is because morning people tend to be healthier, eat better and exercise more.
“By and large, larks are more likely to have a healthy lifestyle than night owls,” says Professor Geraldine Hartshorne, who led the research. “They are less likely to smoke, to be overweight and to suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular disease, all of which could make it harder to fall pregnant.”
Hartshorne says thinking about whether you are morning or night person might be another way to change lifestyle habits if you’re looking to have a baby this year.
However, she did specify that more research was needed to come to a more conclusive result. The team say if they can replicate the findings in a bigger sample they could consider a trial where they ask women to change their sleeping habits.
“This is a pilot study and we now want to monitor people’s sleep and hormone levels with tracking devices to see how much their body clocks relate to pregnancy,” said Hartshorne.