Research says late nighters are more creative than morning people. Morning person may receive a lot of praise, but there are actually some pros — also with cons.
The research showed that people who don’t have “normal” sleeping hours are considered smarter. And the findings are supported by research suggesting that those who create new evolutionary patterns are the most progressive.That makes sense because the people who live differently are the most intelligent and progressive in societies.
Another study showed the same thing. Researchers at the University of Madrid studied the sleep patterns of 1,000 students and found that those who went to bed and woke up later scored higher on inductive reasoning tests, which are associated with overall intelligence.
Another study showed that late nighters have lower levels of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, than those who rose early.
Staying up late night can be the advantage when it comes to brain activity. Compared to late nighters, early birds have lower activity in brain regions linked to attention and the circadian master clock, according to a 2009 study published in the journal Science. Going late to bed helps late nighters handle sleep pressure — a physiological pull that causes us to get sleepier the longer we’re awake — compared to early birds who feel sleepier and mentally wear out faster.
Late nighters are Smarter and they are more Creative in Morning Hours
According to Satoshi Kanazawa and his study, “More intelligent children are more likely to grow up to be nocturnal adults who go to bed late and wake up late on both weekdays and weekends.”
Success doesn’t have to be linked to “intelligence” at all. Apart from Satoshi Kanazawa’s study, Psychologist Richard D. Roberts and Patrick C. Kyllonen measured 420 participants and gave them intelligence tests that involved mathematics, reading comprehension, working memory, and processing speed. The results were in favor of the evening types who were reported to have better scores.
In a study conducted by Mareike Wieth and Rose Zacks in 2011, participants that included both night owls and early birds were given analytical and insight problems to solve. While analytical problems were successfully solved during optimal timings, insightful problems that required creative thinking were better solved during non-optimal hours – meaning during their less preferred hours.