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• Posted February 26, 2026

Early Birds, Active Folks Less Likely To Develop ALS

Early birds and active folks are less likely to develop the degenerative brain disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a new study says.

People who are early birds had a 20% lower risk of ALS — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — compared to night owls, according to research slated for presentation at an upcoming meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study also found that being more physically active is linked with a 26% lower risk of ALS, researchers said.

“While more research is needed to further explore these associations, promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors may represent a potential strategy for reducing the risk of ALS,” researcher Dr. Hong-Fu Li, a neurologist at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, said in a news release.

ALS is a rare, progressive disease in which the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord start dying off.

Patients lose the ability to control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death. People usually die within two to five years of diagnosis with ALS, researchers said in background notes.

For the new study, researchers tracked the health of more than 502,000 people with an average age of 57. They were recruited between 2006 and 2010 and were followed for 14 years on average.

During follow-up, 675 of them – about 0.14% — developed ALS.

Of the participants, more than 277,000 were classified as early birds based on their responses to a sleep questionnaire, and more than 166,000 were considered night owls. The rest of the participants had a sleep-wake cycle that didn’t fit into either classification.

Early birds prefer early bedtimes and wake times, and reach peak productivity early in the day. Night owls prefer later bedtimes and wake times, and are more productive later in the day.

About 350 early birds developed ALS, compared with 237 night owls. After adjusting for other risk factors, results showed that early birds overall had a 20% lower risk of ALS compared to night owls.

Sleep duration also played a role in ALS risk, researchers found. People who got between six and eight hours of sleep each night had a lower risk of ALS than those who slept less or more.

The team also looked at participants’ physical activity levels, and found that more active folks had a 26% lower risk of ALS.

“Previous research suggests better sleep and more physical activity may reduce the risk of some neurodegenerative diseases, but results for ALS have been mixed,” Li said.

“Our study found a sleep schedule that better matches daylight hours and more physical activity were related to a lower risk of ALS,” Li said.

The study is scheduled for presentation at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting,  which takes place April 18-22 in Chicago.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The ALS Association has more on ALS.

SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology, news release, Feb. 25, 2026