For those of you who can’t help waking up late, you can feel relieved knowing that this negatively perceived habit is one that the most creative and intelligent minds have in common.
It may feel nightmarish knowing that you’ll be late for work again, just as you were late for school every time – but what can you do? Your mind is most active during the late-night hours and you can’t imagine going to bed before 2 am.
And when you get where you were supposed to be half an hour ago, after all the speedy preparations and rushing, you are met by those well-awake morning flowers who are wondering what planet you fell from.
However, it seems that the price you are paying is one that all creatives and intellectuals are paying. And what are you paying for, exactly? We know what’s bad about being a night owl, but let’s look at what makes it so good.
Here are 5 things that night owls do differently from early birds.
EVOLUTIONARY PROGRESSIVE
A study called Why Night Owls Are More Intelligent, has found that the deviation from the ancestral habits that can be seen in night owls is closely connected to a more evolved genetics and higher IQ.
As the study authors explain, nocturnal activities were not a common thing among our ancestors, and the change in the circadian rhythm among night owls is an evolutionary one.
The study has looked at the sleeping habits of people with a higher IQ and has found a strong link between IQ and nocturnal activities – the more intelligent the person, the more of a night owl they are.
So, perhaps one day we will all evolve into night owls!
CREATIVE BEASTS
In a study that analyzed the creative potentials of night owls and morning flowers, it was found that while morning flowers struggled to score above 50, the night owls aced every test that was given to them.
As the study author Marina Giampietro explains, the increase in the creative potential among night owls could be triggered by the non-conventional way of functioning which boosts their ability to find original and alternative solutions.
And it’s true – while early birds seize the day and use it in the most productive way, night owls tend to seize the night and let their creativity blossom in the quiet night hours.
MENTALLY STRONG ALL DAY LONG
Researchers at the University of Liege in Belgium wanted to see how active the brains of night owls were during the day compared to early risers.
For this, they examined 15 “extreme night owls” and 16 “extreme early risers” by measuring their brain activity twice a day. First, they would measure their activity when they woke up, followed by another measurement 10.5 hours later.
They found that while both early birds and night owls had roughly the same productivity levels after waking up, the second measurements showed a significant difference.
The brain activity in the regions linked to the circadian master clock and attention was significantly lower in early birds when compared to night owls. As Dr. Philippe Peigneux explained, “evening types were less sleepy and tended to perform faster than morning types.”
SKIPPING STRESS
You may think that waking up late would make night owls stressed from the very start of the day. Well, rushing like a maniac to dress up and magically fly to work and make up a good excuse may seem stressful, but research has shown that night owls are actually less stressed throughout the day.
As the BBC reports, researchers from Westminster have found that morning flowers were more stressed during the day, showing increased levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), when compared to night owls.
Early risers reported a generally worse mood, headaches, cold symptoms, and muscle aches. While they do seize the day, night owls will tell you that the day is not the best place for a peace of mind with all the hustle and bustle – especially in the early hours.
On the other hand, night owls, being programmed to avoid the stress of the morning and recover during the quiet night hours, are “more leisurely and less busy.”
So yes, although waking up late may cause a witch-hunt every other morning, and a lot of frowns and negative remarks, being a night owl is a privilege and something which you should never feel bad about.
The world needs more creative people who live to break the norm. So, be proud, not sorry.
Source: Elite Daily
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.