Studies show that night owls and those who wake up later actually are smarter and more creative than their early rising counterparts. They also have higher IQs according to The Independent. Unfortunately, night owls have slightly lower academic scores than early risers (by about 8%).
Those with an IQ of over 125 tended to go to bed around 12:30 a.m. and wake up around 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and go to bed around 1:45 a.m. and wake up around 11:00 a.m. on weekends. Those of normal intelligence tended to sleep from 12:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and from 1:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on weekends.
They also had a decreased attention span compared to the night owls. This means that even though early risers are technically awake for more hours of the day, they are less productive than night owls. This makes the night owls smarter because they take full advance of their sleep cycle.
After assessing the 420 participants, they discovered that night owls are more likely to have higher intelligence scores.
While you might not want to hire a sleep-eyed night owl to operate heavy machinery at 5 a.m., the characteristics associated with this chronotype, like openness and risk taking, are also strongly associated with creativity. In fact, staying up late is actually linked to high intelligence, as well.
Individuals with predominantly inattentive symptoms are more likely to have a later bedtime, while those with predominantly hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are more likely to suffer from insomnia. Those with combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive ADHD experience both poor sleep quality and a later bedtime.
We grow up and we don't look quite the same. But all this is only on the outside. Beneath the surface, your body is aging too, and sleep loss can speed up the process. A study done by UCLA researchers discovered that just a single night of insufficient sleep can make an older adults' cells age quicker.
It's common for people with ADHD to have delayed circadian rhythms– known more commonly as “being a night owl.” With a delayed circadian rhythm, your sleep signals are delayed by two hours or more beyond what is considered a normal bedtime.
A greater proportion of night owls have been found to exhibit traits of extraversion, narcissism, Machiavellism, impulsivity, novelty-seeking, and risk-taking. Meanwhile, we tend to think of early birds in terms of being conscientious, disciplined, and emotionally stable.
Analysts and Diplomats (79% and 76% agreeing)
Based on our survey, most Analysts and Diplomats are night owls, and they have their Intuitive personality trait to thank for it. Intuitive types overall (77% agreeing) were 15% more likely than Observant types (61%) to identify themselves at night owls.
Most Geniuses Perfected the Power Nap
Since a lot of them tend to believe that it is absolutely imperative to stay ahead, they seem to think that sleeping deprives them of this opportunity. Hence, they'd reduce the time they rest at night in order to have more functional, waking hours.
Gifted Children and Sleep
The hours they sleep during the night are less, their naps are shorter and the age at which they give up naps comes sooner. Not sleeping much may be normal for some children, especially gifted ones.
One of the best-known night owls was Albert Einstein, the genius scientist who formulated the Theory of Relativity, and Charles Darwin, the naturalist who developed the Theory of Evolution.
Albert Einstein is said to have slept 10 hours per night, plus regular daytime naps. Other great achievers, inventors, and thinkers – such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sir Isaac Newton – are said to have slept between two and four hours per day.
Many people with high level of intelligence lean towards over-thinking and keep analyzing everything that occurs in their life, their surroundings and beyond. Too much thinking can be exhausting at times, especially when your thoughts lead you to conclusions which vex and frustrate you.
Another genius who utilized napping during the day was Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci created what is called the polyphasic sleep process, or, the Da Vinci Sleep Schedule. This process entails 20-minute power naps throughout an entire 24-hour period. This results in about 5 hours of sleep every 24 hours.
In fact, some studies suggest that night owls tend to possess three personality traits known as the “dark triad.” These traits are psychopathy (psychologically manipulative tendencies), Machiavellianism (a willingness to harm others in pursuit of a personal goal), and narcissism (a self-obsessed personality).
Although new discoveries prove that timing may not be everything, it is important if you want to create and perform at your best consistently. That said, science has indicated that learning is most effective between 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 10 pm, when the brain is in an acquisition mode.
Other well-known night owls include Winston Churchill, Fran Lebowitz, Bob Dylan, Carl Jung, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Travolta, Prince, Christina Aguilera, and, believe it or not, Barack Obama.
If, on the other hand, an individual with ADHD loses interest in an activity, his nervous system disengages, in search of something more interesting. Sometimes this disengagement is so abrupt as to induce sudden extreme drowsiness, even to the point of falling asleep.
Adult ADHD and Sleep Problems. Everyone needs 7-9 hours of sleep each night to feel productive and well during the day. But people with ADHD often have a hard time falling or staying asleep. Because you feel tired, your ADHD symptoms get worse, and that makes it harder to sleep the next night.
Distractibility and lack of focus can negatively impact sexual activity in several ways: Being unable to fully focus on the emotional aspects and physical sensations of sex may make the experience less enjoyable for a person with ADHD.
"Your skin can become imbalanced, leading to a dehydrated, sallow complexion, acne, and redness," she says. "When you get less sleep, you affect your skin's pH levels, which lowers the moisture level and depletes your natural glow."
Results show that the faces of sleep-deprived individuals were perceived as having more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes and darker circles under the eyes. Sleep deprivation also was associated with paler skin, more wrinkles or fine lines, and more droopy corners of the mouth.
Without regular, quality sleep, many people begin to notice an increase in fine lines, uneven pigmentation and reduced elasticity in their skin. Simply put, they look older than their actual years would indicate because lack of sleep weakens the skin's ability to repair and rejuvenate itself.