Do you roll out of bed eager to kick off your day with a nice breakfast? Or do you tend to wait until later in the morning and grab something whenever the mood strikes? A recent study suggests that when you eat breakfast may be just as important as if you eat it at all.

Researchers in the U.K. tracked nearly 3,000 adults over two decades and analyzed meal timing, health records and survival outcomes. Participants logged their eating habits, giving scientists a look into how daily rhythms shift with age. The research revealed that, over time, many people began eating breakfast and dinner later in the day, within a shorter overall window of food consumption each day.

The team also observed that those who consistently ate breakfast later in the morning were more likely to deal with physical and psychological health problems, including fatigue, depression, anxiety, oral health issues and multimorbidity — meaning they lived with two or more chronic conditions. Participants who were classified as early eaters maintained a 10-year survival rate of 89.5% while the late eaters saw an 86.7% survival rate for the same timeframe. Additionally, each hour participants delayed breakfast was linked to an 8 to 11% higher risk of death.

Genetic testing showed that participants with an evening chronotype — so-called night owls — were more likely to eat later. But this didn’t fully account for the health risks tied to delayed breakfast.

So, while brunch may be fun on weekends, your body may prefer something earlier. When it comes to breakfast, the early bird might not just catch the worm, but a few extra years of life, too.