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If you are naturally more focused and proactive in the evenings, with your preferred bedtime anywhere beyond the 12am mark, then you might consider yourself a ‘night owl’. However, if you’re among the population who struggle to keep your eyes open past 10pm, you’re probably a ‘morning lark’.

A new study by Imperial College London analysed the data of 26,000 people and found that night owls performed better in cognitive tests compared to those who enjoy an early morning, leading them to the conclusion that night owls are generally more mentally sharp than morning larks.

Key takeaways from the study

• Study showed ‘night owls’ generally performed better in cognitive tests
• early-risers consistently showed the lowest cognitive scores in both groups analysed
• Sleeping for fewer than 7 hours had detrimental effects on brain function

The study, published in BMJ Public Health in July, found that our natural bedtime preferences can have a big impact on our mental alertness. These finding come from 26,000 people who took part in cognitive tests that included Fluid intelligence/reasoning, Pairs Matching, Reaction Time and Prospective Memory.

The results showed that self confessed ‘night owls’ generally performed better in cognitive tests compared to ‘morning larks.’

Here, we’ll explore in finer detail the findings of the study and take a closer look at whether you can change the time you naturally feel inclined to sleep and what that means for your mental alertness.

What are night owls?

Night owls and morning larks are colloquial names for specific chronotypes, which are determined by genetics, age and other factors. A chronotype is the body’s natural waking and sleeping schedule. Night owls generally refers to people who sleep between the hours of 12am and 11am.

This can be influenced by genetics and circadian rhythms. So, if you feel naturally energised in the morning, but your partner struggles to get out of bed, it’s likely you have different chronotypes. While there are no right or wrong chronotypes, this study has found that they can impact cognitive ability.

Researchers looked at the data from 26,000 people who described themselves as ‘morning people’ or ‘evening people’ to find out how different aspects of sleep – including duration, patterns, and quality – affected mental sharpness and overall cognitive ability.

What did the study find?

The results from the study were highly significant, due to the notable differences in test scores. Night owls scored about 13.5% higher than morning types in one group and 7.5% higher than morning types in another group.

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