The circadian preferences in the context of sociodemographic indicators and lifestyle

ABSTRACT

Circadian preferences are frequently used as a synonym for chronotype. Both terms are based on different principles and are measured by a variant questionnaire. We focused on circadian preferences, delimited as an individual preference for the timing of various activities, and their relationship to the selected sociodemographic factors. All participants (n = 2068) filled out online questionnaires including MEQ, MCTQ, and sociodemographic information (age, sex, place of residence, marital status, childcare, education, financial security, physical and mental health). Although the concept of chronotype and circadian preference differ, the mutual correlation was high. Our results of the observed variables are similar to other studies. We revealed evening preference is related to a higher probability of living in a big city, having a single life, a higher risk of smoking, worse health status, and worse financial security. We observed a higher social jet lag among them. Our research complies with previous studies, which found that in some areas, people with evening preferences evince worse results. Due to the evening preference, these people are at a disadvantage, and the society’s setting for morning operations can lead to a deepening of these differences. We recommend further research, which would focus on the practical application of results to the everyday life of participants to create preventive programs aimed at reducing the negative impact of evening preferences on life.

KEYWORDS:

• Circadian preference
• chronotype
• MEQ
• sociodemographic data
• lifestyle

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical considerations

The current study is a questionnaire survey and was approved by the local institutional review board (Ethics Committee of NIMH-CZ, No. 170/16). The study protocol was in line with international ethical standards (Portaluppi et al. 2010). The data were stored anonymously in the database. The questions are not of any ethical concern. Participants agreed to participate in the study by confirming informed consent and had the chance and possibility to drop out at any time.

Data availability statement

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.