Night Owl Types Who Sleep Late Show Better Cognitive Ability Than Morning Types...

Imperial College London Team Analyzes Data from 26,000 People
Evening-Type People Show Superior Intelligence, Reasoning, and Memory Skills

New research has found that 'night owl' evening-type individuals who stay up late have superior intelligence, reasoning ability, and memory compared to 'morning-type' people who wake up early and go to bed early.

On the 11th (local time), according to the British daily The Guardian, researchers at Imperial College London analyzed data from the biomedical database UK Biobank, which conducted intelligence, reasoning, reaction time, and memory tests on 26,000 people, and obtained these results.

Night view of Yeouido financial district in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The researchers examined how sleep duration and quality, whether a person is a morning-type, evening-type, or intermediate-type, and their chronotype affect the brain. The results showed that people who stay up late and those with intermediate chronotypes had superior cognitive abilities, while morning-type individuals who start their day early scored relatively lower. These results remained valid even after accounting for factors such as age, gender, chronic diseases, alcohol consumption, smoking, and other health and lifestyle habits of the participants.

Sleep duration was found to have a significant impact on brain function. Regardless of being morning-type or evening-type, those who secured sufficient sleep of about 7 to 9 hours every night exhibited excellent cognitive function. Regarding these findings, Dr. Raha West of Imperial College, who led the study, explained, "Getting enough sleep that is neither too long nor too short is very important for maintaining brain health and optimizing brain function." Co-author Professor Dacheng Ma emphasized, "We discovered that sleep duration directly affects brain function," adding, "Managing sleep patterns in advance is also a key factor in enhancing and protecting brain function."

However, some experts have urged caution in interpreting these results. Jackie Henry, head of research at the UK Alzheimer's Society, pointed out, "Without a detailed picture of what is happening in the brain, it is unclear how being a morning-type or evening-type affects memory and thinking, or whether cognitive decline can cause changes in sleep patterns." Jessica Chelekis, a sleep expert at Brunel University London, also noted, "This study has serious limitations as it does not include important information such as participants' education level or the time when cognitive tests were conducted."