A new study, carried out by a team of Belgian and Swiss researchers and published in last week’s issue of Science, looked at the underlying cause of what makes one an early bird or a night owl, and what effects this has on day-to-day life. The study consisted of 31 participants, 16 morning people, and 15 night owls—the night owls’ days were shifted an average of four hours later than those of the early birds…
Each person was given two rounds of fMRIs and cognitive tests, one day in the morning (1.5 hours after they woke up) and the other day in the evening (10.5 hours after they woke up). The evening test showed statistically different measures for the two groups: night owls maintained their response times better than the early birds. The morning test found the two results to be statistically identical. Using the data from fMRI imaging, the cognitive testing, and a measure of the individual’s circadian phase, the researchers found that behavioral differences manifested themselves only in the evening.
So, if I understand this correctly: the “morning person” who gets up at 7am is less “functional” at 5:30pm than the waking-at-11am “night owl” at 9:30pm.
HAH.
