The 2 Significant Advantages Night Owls Have Over Early Birds, According To Research
You may not be the first one to get the worm, but hey, apparently, you'll earn more!
Max kegfire / Shutterstock So much for the early bird gets the worm. Night owls may not be the first to get up in the morning, but they have something else going for them. They are actually smarter than early risers.
Morning people are often praised for their discipline and productivity, but studies suggest that night owls have cognitive and financial benefits of their own. Perhaps it's time to stop praising all those early risers for their get-up-and-go. Just because they wake before the sun with a spring in their step does not mean they actually have a leg up.
Research found that night owls are more intelligent & have potential to make more money than early birds.
Researchers had 1,000 teenagers at the University of Madrid complete tests that measured both school performance and inductive intelligence. Thirty-two percent of the participants claimed to be night owls, and the study found that they scored higher on inductive reasoning than morning types, which is a sign of general intelligence and a good predictor of positive academic performance.
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Inductive reasoning is also tied to more prestigious occupations, where people earn higher incomes. Careers that rely on inductive reasoning include jobs in science, technology, and business, such as engineers, doctors, and lawyers.
One possible theory to explain the extra brain power that night owls have is that, in ancestral times, novel activities took place at night. These activities would have been likely to attract people with intelligent and inquisitive minds, and these tendencies may have continued into the modern day.
A 1999 study found that U.S. Air Force recruits who were more awake at night were more likely to have the ability to think laterally (creatively problem-solve) than their morning counterparts, even when tested in the morning.
This does not mean that staying up late makes you smarter, but instead that people with higher IQs and intelligence have a tendency to stay up later. So, no, you can't get smarter just by forcing yourself to stay up late. Sorry.
Unfortunately, we live in a 9-to-5 world, and that often means night owls don't get the justice or recognition they deserve. It also means that night owls are forced to adapt to an early bird routine or else they will inevitably suffer the consequences of poor sleep hygiene.
Other studies have also researched different populations to help understand what sleeping habits mean for intelligence. Scientists from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University analyzed GMAT scores from MBA students in 2014. They discovered that test scores were significantly higher among night owls than early risers for both men and women.
There's one thing that is working against nocturnal people: 9-to-5 life.
Unless you're working the night shift, your up-all-night schedule is more likely to make you perform worse at school and work. The University of Madrid study found that, after observation, the levels of achievement amongst night people were rated lower by 8%, in comparison to morning people. This makes sense because night owls aren't at their best in the morning when school or work takes place.
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Professor Jim Horne, of Loughborough University, said, "It is an interesting study. Evening types tend to be the more extrovert creative types, the poets, artists, and inventors, while the morning types are the deducers, as often seen with civil servants and accountants."
Many famous night owls didn't let this stop them from achieving greatness, however, including Winston Churchill, President Barack Obama, and Elvis Presley. Society's need for early schedules seems to throw nocturnal people off their A (+) game, but I guess it evens the playing field a little bit.
Nicole Weaver is a senior writer for Showbiz Cheat Sheet whose work has been featured in New York Magazine, Teen Vogue, and more.
