mfellow night owls, grab a strong cup of coffee and gather: I have good news. For a long time we are kind unfairly maligned. Stereotyped as lazy and undisciplined. Said we should be morning larks. Advised to go to bed early so we can wake up before 5am and run a marathon before breakfast as all high runners seem to do. Now, however, we are having the last laugh. Science has officially crowned us superior to our early rising brethren.
OK, it might be a little more complicated than that. A study published last weekwhich you may have already seen while browsing at 1am indicates that you stay up late can be good for brain power. Is this study a thinly veiled PR exercise by a caffeine pill company? No, it’s legal. Research led by academics at Imperial College London studied data on more than 26,000 people and found that “self-proclaimed ‘night owls’ usually tend to have higher cognitive scores”. And we’re talking quite a lot higher. “Evening types … scored approximately 13.5% higher than morning types in one group and 7.5% higher than morning types in another group,” according to a headline of the study.
Experts have urged caution in interpreting the findings, saying for example that there are “important limitations”. Still, I think we can ignore these limitations for now and focus on the exciting fact that night owls are finally justified.
Unfortunately, this justification comes at the wrong moment in my life. Having a small child means I’ve been forced into the routine, if not the mindset, of a morning lark. Turns out toddlers don’t come with a “snooze” button. They also don’t respond particularly well when you try to explain to them that some people are born with a genetic disposition – a chronotype – which means they function better at certain times of the day, and me chronotype renders me useless before 10:00.
Still, while it may not make an impression on my toddler, I’m glad to see a study that finally challenges long-held stereotypes about sleep. Better late than never, eh?
