Who Is More Successful: Morning People or Night Owls?

It is said that the world is divided into two groups: "morning people," who are alert, sharp, and focused in the early hours, able to wake up early for work and be highly efficient during those hours, and the second group - "night people," who are more efficient, energetic, and alert during late hours.

A new study by the journal BMJ Public Health compared the sleep habits of the two groups to determine which is considered more efficient and successful. 26,000 people participated in the extensive study, which examined among other things the connection between sleep patterns and their cognitive abilities. It was found that, for all participants, 7-9 hours of sleep was optimal for functioning. Sleeping less than seven or more than nine hours had harmful effects on brain function.

When researchers examined who performed better cognitively, the findings were surprising - night people, those who stay awake until late hours and reach peak concentration at those times, consistently scored higher in cognitive tests. The results also took into account lifestyle factors such as chronic diseases, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption.

"Our research findings clearly showed that adults who are naturally more active in the evening and night achieved better results on cognitive tests than those defined as morning people," said Rhea West, lead researcher from London.

Previous studies showed that morning people achieve higher academically, while night people have better cognitive abilities. "It's important to note this doesn't mean all morning people have inferior cognitive performance," West added. "They simply reflect a general trend where most night people are more intelligent."