A late night at the office. People who got between seven and nine hours of sleep a night performed best in cognitive tests. Getty Images
A late night at the office. People who got between seven and nine hours of sleep a night performed best in cognitive tests. Getty Images

Night owls are sharper than morning people, study shows



Night owls perform better in cognitive tests than morning people, according to a new study.

The research found that people who are more alert in the evening, and others who did not show a preference for night or morning, were sharper, with “superior cognitive function”.

Previous studies have examined the relationship between sleep and cognitive abilities, but much less is known about sleep patterns, chronotypes – the natural inclination of your body to sleep at a certain time – and cognition.

Academics from Imperial College London set out to explore the relationship, examining data on thousands of people held in the UK Biobank study to examine their sleep duration, quality and chronotype – categorised in the study as “morningness”, “eveningness”, or “intermediate” for those who did not align to either of the other two.

People taking part in the study underwent tests that examined their intelligence, reasoning skills, reaction times and memory.

The researchers analysed data on almost 27,000 people, comparing how well they performed in these tests to their self-reported sleep duration, sleep pattern and sleep quality.

People who got between seven and nine hours of sleep each night appeared to perform best in the tests, according to the study, which was published in the journal BMJ Public Health.

Academics also found that night owls and those classed as “intermediate” had “superior cognitive function”.

Being a woman, increasing age and having a diagnosis of angina, high blood pressure and diabetes appeared to “worsen cognitive performance”, they added.

“Our study found that adults who are naturally more active in the evening – what we called 'eveningness' – tended to perform better on cognitive tests than those who are 'morning people',” said the study's lead author, Dr Raha West, from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London.

“Rather than just being personal preferences, these chronotypes could impact our cognitive function.”

She added: “While understanding and working with your natural sleep tendencies is essential, it's equally important to remember to get just enough sleep, not too long or too short. This is crucial for keeping your brain healthy and functioning at its best.”

Study co-leader Prof Daqing Ma, also from Imperial's Department of Surgery and Cancer, added: “We found that sleep duration has a direct effect on brain function, and we believe that proactively managing sleep patterns is really important for boosting, and safeguarding, the way our brains work.

“We'd ideally like to see policy interventions to help sleep patterns improve in the general population.”

Previous studies have linked night owls with a higher risk of health issues.

A study last year found that night owls are more prone to developing diabetes than the wider population.

After accounting for lifestyle factors, an evening chronotype was associated with a 19 per cent increased risk of diabetes.

Among those with the healthiest lifestyles, only 6 per cent had evening chronotypes, compared with 25 per cent of night owls who reported having unhealthy lifestyles.

Evening people were also more likely to drink alcohol in higher quantities, have a low-quality diet, get fewer hours of sleep per night, smoke, and have weight, BMI and physical activity rates in the unhealthy range, the team added.

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1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

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UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

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Normal People

Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
 

What is double taxation?
  • Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
  • Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
  • The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
  • Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

A German university was a good fit for the family budget

Annual fees for the Technical University of Munich - £600

Shared rental accommodation per month depending on the location ranges between  £200-600

The family had budgeted for food, books, travel, living expenses - £20,000 annually

Overall costs in Germany are lower than the family estimated 

As proof that the student has the ability to take care of expenses, international students must open a blocked account with about £8,640

Students are permitted to withdraw £720 per month

TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

Updated: July 11, 2024, 4:41 PM