Health

I am a self-described night owl. Creatively, socially, physically, I feel like I hit my peak after the sun goes down. Although this may sound insane, I don’t feel like I even achieve a baseline cognitive functioning until about noon, and use copious amounts of coffee to push that back to about 10 a.m. A recent study published in the journal, Emotion, found that this may mean that I am less happy, overall, than my more morning-oriented peers. This would certainly explain why I seem to resent early-birds.

Researchers at the University of Toronto undertook the study because data in the area was lacking, mostly having researched only young adults that are famously night-owlish. However, even what little research there was seemed to indicate that morning-people report feeling more happy and positive, overall. It also may explain why, as people age, they tend go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. Of course, being a slave to a day job that starts at 8 a.m. probably forces that transition a little.

The researchers took a look at two different populations, a significant sample of adults aged 17-38, and a slightly smaller sample of adults aged 59-79. Using a questionairre, participants indicated their overall emotional state, health, and preferred time of day. Age and preferred “time of day” seemed to be inversely proportional. As teenagers, only about seven percent reported being a morning person, whereas in the senior citizen category, seven percent reported being night owls.