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New study shows night owls have ‘superior’ brain power over early birds
A new study into how sleep duration, chronotype, health, and lifestyle factors affect cognitive performance shows night owls have better brain power.
Sleep is considered important to everyone, and people are always searching for ways to get the perfect nights sleep by looking for the optimal room temperature, or wondering if you should exercise before bed. Well, a recent study highlights the vital role of sleep quality on cognitive health and even shows that staying up late is linked to superior cognitive function (mental ability).
Study researched the role of sleep quality on cognitive health
A new study published in BMJ Journals explores the nuanced relationship between sleep patterns, chronotype, quality, and the influence of health and lifestyle factors on cognitive performance.
Chronotypes are natural preferences of the body for wakefulness and sleep. Sleep Foundation explains that an individuals chronotype is influenced by genetics and driven by their circadian rhythm (24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s internal clock).
Morning chronotype individuals, also known as early chronotypes, morning larks or early birds, prefer to be active in the morning and sleep and wake early. Evening chronotypes, also called late chronotypes or night owls, prefer to be active in the evening and sleep and wake up late, as the National Library of Medicine reports.
The cross-sectional analysis study used data from the UK Biobank database, assessing 26,820 participants aged 5386 years who were categorized into two cohorts.
Participants self-reported sleep duration, chronotype, and quality. Cognitive function was assessed through standardized computerized tests. Cognitive functions include the domains of perception, memory, learning, attention, decision-making, and language abilities, according to Springer.
Findings show night owls have better brain power
Cognitive performance scores were evaluated against sleep parameters and health and lifestyle factors including sex, age, vascular and cardiac conditions, diabetes, alcohol intake, smoking habits, and body mass index.
“Chronotype distinctions, particularly intermediate and evening types, were linked to superior cognitive function,” they found.
Results highlighted a positive association between normal sleep duration (79 hours) and cognitive scores, while extended sleep duration negatively impacted scores across both cohorts.
An intermediate chronotype (neutral or neither type) has no preference for morning or evening. So if you don’t have a sleep pattern preference, or if you consider yourself a night owl who loves to stay up late, you could have better brain power.
The UK Biobank cross-sectional study presents a multifaceted and nuanced relationship between sleep variables, health, and lifestyle factors in determining cognitive outcomes.
Findings from the study highlight the vital role of sleep quality on cognitive health.
