For years, I have been someone who works well at night. Often, I’ll get a second wind, a fresh burst of energy around 11:30 and can then roll along for at least a couple of more hours. Of course, my work responsibilities often has me up around 6:30 or even earlier, so I can’t keep my late hours as often as I used to when I was younger. Still, I am never quite as strong during the early morning as I am at night. Yet, the common belief is that the early risers are the ones who perform best. The old adage of “the early bird gets the worm” has long guided thinking in America on this point. New research may now provide some solace for someone like me.
Fast Company recently posted an article extoling some of the virtues of the Night Owl. They write:
Research by Satoshi Kanazawa and colleagues at the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests no. The group discovered significant differences in sleep preferences and found that people with higher IQs are more likely to be night owls. They found an evolutionary shift from being active in the day towards nightly pursuits and that those individuals who preferred to stay up late demonstrated “a higher level of cognitive complexity.” Researchers from Belgium and Switzerland studying sleep habits found that early risers needed more rest than their nocturnal counterparts and didn’t focus as well later in the day as those who slept in.
I don’t know if people who rise early really do need more rest, but rest assured, I’m not apologizing for being a night owl. Now, it’s almost midnight and I do need to get ready for bed—though I could probably hammer out another hour of work.