Staying up late may be harder on your heart than you think. In a major new study, night owls were 79% more likely to have poor cardiovascular health.Their risk of heart attack and stroke was also 16% higher compared to people with more typical sleep schedules.Researchers analyzed data from more than 320,000 adults in the UK, following them for about 14 years.Their heart health was measured using diet, exercise, smoking, sleep, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.So called ‘evening people’ showed worse overall heart health, with stronger effects seen in women than in men.Much of the added risk was linked to unhealthy habits — especially smoking, poor sleep, and diet.A spokesperson for the American Heart Association says, “These findings show that the higher heart disease risks among evening types are partly due to modifiable behaviors.”According to the authors, the takeaway isn’t to force night owls to change their body clocks but to help them build healthier routines that fit their natural schedules.Source: Journal of the American Heart AssociationAuthor Affiliations: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Leiden University Medical Center, University of Manchester, National Institute on Aging .Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter