Is it better to be an early bird or a night owl?

DO YOU spring out of bed in the morning, or hit the snooze button? Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl can affect your personality, health and pay packet.

DO YOU spring out of bed when the alarm sounds in the morning? Or are you the type to hit snooze button over and over until you’re racing out the door only to catch the train as the doors close on you?

The phrase “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” is conventional wisdom, but research proves it’s not quite that simple.

Academics are split as to which group is more successful, so here’s a run down on the good, the bad and the ugly of being an early riser or an all-nighter.

Up and at ’em … Early risers are healthier.

GOOD NEWS FOR EARLY BIRDS

* You’re a winner. Some of the world’s most successful people are famous for being early risers. If you’re up and at it at 5.30am, you’re in the company of US founding father Benjamin Franklin, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Virgin founder Richard Branson.

* You’re happier and healthier. The sleeping patterns of early birds, who scientists call morning sleep chronotypes, are in line with the rise and fall of the sun, which generally leads to better health outcomes, according to American Psychological Association journal Emotion. Meanwhile, night owls, who are known as evening sleep chronotypes, are more prone to depression, drug use and insomnia.

Morning glory … Richard Branson.

Early riser … Gwyneth Paltrow.

BAD NEWS FOR EARLY BIRDS

* You’re useless in the arvo. Early birds are up and at ’em before anyone, and are very productive in the morning, but they tend to flame out by the afternoon. Night owls stay alert longer than early risers before losing their mental stamina. So, don’t ask an early bird to do anything that requires sustained attention more than 10 hours after they wake up.

* You’re probably poorer. Although their lifestyle has plenty of drawbacks, night owls tend to be better off financially than their early-rising counterparts. Evening types show more of the kind of intelligence that is linked to prestigious jobs and more pay. Other research has shown that night owls display greater reasoning and analytical abilities.

* You’re more stressed. Researchers from the University of Westminster found in 1999 that getting up early was stressful to the body. It is more likely to lead to muscle aches, cold symptoms, headaches and bad moods. Analysis of the saliva of 42 volunteers found that the early risers had higher levels of the body’s main stress hormone, cortisol, than those who slept in.

3.30-itis … Early birds tend to crash in the afternoon.

GOOD NEWS FOR NIGHT OWLS

* You’re smarter. A study from 2009 by the London School of Economics and Political Science found people who were night owls were smarter. The thinking is that nocturnal activities were rare among our ancestors, so it took an intelligent person to break the genetic predisposition to go to bed with the sun. Because this is innovative for humans, the researchers concluded that it was the novel thinkers and the inquisitive who tended to do it.

* You’re great once you’ve warmed up. Early rises are alert first thing, but eventually late risers catch up. Early birds tend to flame out in the afternoon, but night owls get a late boost of energy and alertness later in the day.

* You’re in great company. Night owls keep some decidedly cool company. Take self-confessed night owl Barack Obama, scientist Charles Darwin, and rockers Keith Richards and Elvis Presley.

Are you a night owl or an early bird? Picture: Thinkstock

BAD NEWS FOR NIGHT OWLS

* You’re kind of evil. Staying up late has been linked to something called the Dark Triad of human traits — narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. The Dark Triad relates to a two-faced way of dealing with people, associated with cynicism and a pragmatic morality. (Oh, and did I mention that Adolph Hitler loved to stay up late?)

* You’re messing with your genes. Night owls have circadian rhythms that are not aligned with rise and fall of the sun — and this can disrupt the function of more than 1000 genes. Scientists have found jet lag or working an unusual night shift caused “profound disruption” to the usual rhythms of gene activity, they wrote.

* You’re probably fatter. A report from last year found evening sleep chronotypes had a larger body-mass index.

Up all night … Barack Obama.

Night time’s the right time … Keith Richards.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Although there are pluses and minuses to each sleep pattern, researches agree that getting plenty of sleep is the key. Get between seven and nine hours’ sleep per night and keep consistent sleep and wake schedules — including on the weekends — and you’ll be at your best.

Originally published as Is it better to be an early bird or a night owl?