Night Owls Have Better Cognitive Ability Than Early Risers, Reveals Study

A new study has claimed that night owls, people who tend to be awake late into the night, perform better on cognitive tests as compared to those who are early risers, as per a report in the New York Post. The study was conducted by Imperial College London and the researchers used UK Biobank data from more than 26,000 people to understand how sleep duration, patterns and quality affect mental sharpness and cognitive capacity.

After finishing a series of assessments, participants indicated whether they felt more alert and productive in the morning or the evening. Researchers discovered that a person's chronotype-their inclination for morning or evening activities-had a significant impact on test results. These chronotypes were called "morning larks" and "night owls." Further, owls fared better than early birds, with larks regularly scoring lowest on cognitive measures. The participants classified as "intermediate," or having a modest preference for either day or night, also saw an improvement in their scores.

In one sample, owls outscored larks by 13.5 per cent, and in another, they outscored them by 7.5 per cent. Results released this week in BMJ Public Health show that intermediates scored 10.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent higher than morning kinds, respectively. In terms of lifestyle characteristics, individuals who were younger and did not have long-term health issues like diabetes or heart disease performed better on tests.

Study author Dr Raha West, who works in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, said, "Our study found that adults who are naturally more active in the evening (what we called 'eveningness') tended to perform better on cognitive tests than those who are 'morning people'. Rather than just being personal preferences, these chronotypes could impact our cognitive function," Dr West continued.

She added that this does not mean that all morning people have bad cognitive performance. "The findings reflect an overall trend where the majority might lean towards better cognition in the evening types," she said.

Experts stated that getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night is best for brain health, regardless of whether you consider yourself an owl or a lark. This latest study, which discovered that getting seven to nine hours of sleep improves memory, reasoning, and information processing, reflects this optimum performance range. It has been demonstrated that getting fewer than seven or more than nine hours of sleep is bad for the health of the brain. Dr West said, "While understanding and working with your natural sleep tendencies is essential, it's equally important to remember to get just enough sleep, not too long or too short. This is crucial for keeping your brain healthy and functioning at its best."

Although the amount of sleep was shown to be critical for cognition, individuals who reported having insomnia symptoms did not do much worse than the other participants. Researchers think it's important to take into account the intensity and duration of symptoms.