Are you a morning person or a night owl? New study says one group has better brain function

For a long time, people believed that an early bird had a major advantage over a night owl. It was commonly thought that those who woke up early were healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

This idea is rooted in old sayings like “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” and “The early bird catches the worm.”

It makes sense that people often see early risers as more disciplined and better suited to today’s work world. After all, many jobs start early in the morning.

However, a new twist has emerged. Researchers at Imperial College London found that night owls – those who prefer to stay up late – performed better on brain function tests.

This discovery could be a game-changer for understanding and treating memory problems as people age.

According to Psypost, study authors Raha West and Daqquing Ma said, “Our interest in this topic stemmed from a broader curiosity about how lifestyle factors, particularly sleep, influence brain health.”

They added that with more older people facing memory problems, scientists are eager to understand how sleep affects the brain.

They believe that figuring out the link between sleep patterns and brain function could lead to better ways to help older adults keep their minds sharp.

To uncover whether an early bird or a night owl has a sharper mind, researchers surveyed nearly 27,000 people.

They asked about sleep habits, including how long people slept and when they went to bed.

Additionally, the scientists tested participants on a range of cognitive abilities, such as reasoning, memory, language skills, math, how quickly they could react, and their ability to remember things in the future.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that night owls scored higher on cognitive tests than early risers.

According to West, adults who were more active at night or what they called “eveningness” outperformed “morning people” in the tests.

Researchers compared two sets of people. Night owls in the first group outperformed early risers on brain function tests by 13.5%. Those in the second group of night owls did better by 6.5%.

Interestingly, people who weren’t strictly night owls or early birds also had better results than the early risers. Their scores were 10.6% and 6.3% higher.

“In my expert opinion, the main takeaway should be that the cultural belief that early risers are more productive than ‘night owls’ does not hold up to scientific scrutiny,” Dr. Jessica Chelekis told Science Media Centre.

Chelekis is a senior lecturer in global sustainability value chains and a sleep expert at Brunel University London.

She also said everyone should try to get a good night’s sleep, but figuring out when your brain works best is also important.

This means working with your natural sleep schedule instead of forcing yourself to be an early bird if you’re a night owl.

The study provides night owls with evidence to counter the stereotype of being lazy and questions why early risers experience brain fog, possibly due to waking up too early.

West adds that the study shouldn’t be used to judge early risers and encourages those who want to adjust their sleep habits.

“It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean all morning people have worse cognitive performance,” West said.

West added that the study suggests that most people may have better brain function in the evening.

But it’s possible to slowly change your sleep habits by going to bed later, getting more light in the evening, and sticking to a regular sleep schedule, turning from an early bird to a night owl is tricky.

Do you want to know if you are a night owl? Below are the five signs that you are one: