Night owls suffer sleepy slowdown all day: study

People who go to bed late have poorer cognitive function throughout the day, an international study led by a Melbourne researcher has discovered.

Night owls tend to suffer poorer cognitive function, but a new study reveals why that might be the case.

Night owls now have an excuse for missing the early worm as a new study has found they are more likely to suffer slower reaction times, poor attention and increased sleepiness.

It’s no surprise people who prefer a later-than-usual sleep-wake cycle struggle to cope with the standard nine-tofive working day.

But in a study first, a team of international sleep scientists discovered the role resting brain connectivity plays in explaining why night owls suffer poorer cognitive processes than those who go to bed early.

‘ATROCIOUS’: MARVEL STADIUM SURFACE UNDER FIRE

NEIGHBOURLY LOVE HELD IN RESERVE

MOBILES TO REPLACE MYKIS FOR COMMUTERS

Lead researcher Dr Elise Facer-Childs from the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences said the results helped explain why late risers struggled to balance their sleep cycle with social expectations.

“This mismatch between a person’s biological time and social time — which most of us have experienced in the form of shift work or jet lag — is a common issue for ‘night owls’ trying to follow a normal work day,” Dr Facer-Childs said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows more than 60 per cent of Aussies work a regular nine-to-five day.

Early to bed, early to rise: night owls suffer poorer cognitive processes than those who go to bed early, a study has found.

Among them, up to 40 per cent may be suffering the negative impacts of having a late sleep-wake cycle.

“Our study is the first to show how the brain at rest could help to explain why (they) may face cognitive disadvantages when being forced to fit into these constraints,” she said.

The research, published in the journal SLEEP, compared the cognitive abilities of ‘night owls’ to ‘morning larks’ through a series of aptitude tests and questionnaires between 8am and 8pm.

Early rises reported to be less sleepy and had their fastest reaction times during the morning test while their counterparts performed at their best later in the evening.

Dr Facer-Childs said the results showed those who went to bed late had impaired brain connectivity throughout the entire day.

Previous studies have found night owls are linked to increased health risks such as a cancer, higher rates of depression, decreased psychological wellbeing and in the most extremes cases — higher mortality rates.

Dr Facer-Childs said if society were more flexible in managing time, it could help maximise productivity of workers and reduce their health risks.

[e-mail]