In Night Owl vs. Early Bird, One Emerges 'Superior'

Night owls might feel personally attacked by recent studies indicating their habit of going to bed late makes them less active and at higher risk of early death than early risers, as well as making them feel older. But new research offers them a big win in the form of "superior cognitive function," per the Guardian. Researchers looking to explore the effect of sleep on brain performance utilized UK Biobank data on more than 26,000 adults who'd completed tests to gauge intelligence, reasoning, reaction time, and memory. Unsurprisingly, those who slept for seven to nine hours per night experienced optimum brain function. But one's chronotype, or natural preference for evening or morning activity, also had a major effect.

Basically, those inclined to be more active in the evenings performed better on tests than those inclined to be more active in the mornings. Night owls scored 13.5% higher than morning types in one group, and 7.5% better in another group, according to a release. "Intermediate" types, who showed only a mild preference for day or night activity, also performed 10.6% and 6.3% higher than morning types in the two groups. Indeed, early birds "consistently showed the lowest cognitive scores," per the release. There is a caveat, however: As an outside researcher tells the Guardian, the study doesn't account for educational attainment or make note of what time of day the tests were conducted.

Still, "rather than just being personal preferences, these chronotypes could impact our cognitive function," concludes Dr. Raha West of Imperial College London, lead author of the study published in BMJ Public Health. She notes "this doesn't mean all morning people have worse cognitive performance." Rather, "the findings reflect an overall trend where the majority might lean towards better cognition in the evening types." Though early risers might now feel inclined to shift their tendencies, "completely changing from a morning to an evening person is complex," West says. Her advice is to "get just enough sleep" since the study found sleeping for fewer than seven hours or more than nine hours had an adverse effect on brain function. (More sleep stories.)