BY: TED BARNABY
Believe it or not, researchers have actually determined that people who stay up late and sleep in all morning are typically more intelligent than those early to bed and early to rise.
The original hypothesis was formed, essentially, on the basis of evolution. Our early ancestors—like animals—followed a diurnal (day-time) sleep pattern, instinctually sleeping and rising with the sun. (Why would cavemen need to be up past dusk?). Therefore, the hypothesis predicted that staying up and sleeping in late pushes one ever so slightly farther down the evolutionary scale. Sounds ridiculous, right?
According to Psychology Today, a corresponding study was actually recently completed, using a large representative of young American adults to determine the relationship between sleep patterns and IQs. The results demonstrated a congruency between night owls and Einsteins, late risers and brainiacs—indicating that those who go to bed late and sleep in until noon are actually, on average, more intelligent than their early-to-bed/early-to-rise counterparts.
London School of Economics and Political Science psychologist, Satoshi Kanazawa, supports these claims. The journal, Psychology and Individual Differences, published his academic paper, stating, “…more intelligent individuals may be more likely to acquire and espouse evolutionarily novel values and preferences than less intelligent individuals.” The reasoning behind this is that people who break the ancestral habit of daytime sleep schedules are blessed with a higher IQ to do so, and are therefore more evolutionarily advantaged.
Kanazawa’s data reports the following:
Very Dull (IQ < 75)
Weekday: 11:41 pm -7:20 am
Weekend: 12:35 am -10:09 pm
Normal (90 < IQ < 110)
Weekday: 12:10 am -7:32 am
Weekend: 1:13 am -10:14 am
Very Bright (IQ > 125)
Weekday: 12:29 am -7:52 am
Weekend: 1:44 am -11:07 am
Really, it’s not that far-fetched when you think about it: progressive thinkers are more inclined to challenge norms and push boundaries, ultimately marching to the beat of their own drum.
So does intelligence really lead to late-nights and lazy mornings? It appears so. Just be warned—it doesn’t work both ways.
