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A new study involving 26,000 people found those who stay up late scored better on intelligence, reasoning and memory tests than those who get up earlier in the morning.

This is bad news for early birds, but it seems to dispel the notion that those who stay up late struggle to focus the next day.

Researchers led by academics at Imperial College London studied data from the UK Biobank study on people who had completed intelligence, reasoning, reaction time and memory tests. They specifically looked into how people’s sleep length, quality, and chronotype (the time of day when we feel most awake and productive) influenced brain performance.

The results clearly indicated that those who stay up late showed “superior cognitive function”. This also correlated with widely held perceptions that creative types tend to be more active in the later hours of the day.

Artists, authors and musicians known to be night owls include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, James Joyce, and even Lady Gaga.

But it’s not just about staying up late, as the research points to sleep duration as important for brain function, with those getting between seven and nine hours of shut-eye each night performing best in cognitive tests.

Dr Raha West, lead author and clinical research fellow at the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London said: “While understanding and working with your natural sleep tendencies is essential, it’s equally important to remember to get just enough sleep, not too long or too short. This is crucial for keeping your brain healthy and functioning at its best.”

“We found that sleep duration has a direct effect on brain function, and we believe that proactively managing sleep patterns is really important for boosting, and safeguarding, the way our brains work.”

As with all studies, not everyone is buying into the results. Jacqui Hanley, head of research funding at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Without a detailed picture of what is going on in the brain, we don’t know if being a ‘morning’ or ‘evening’ person affects memory and thinking, or if a decline in cognition is causing changes to sleeping patterns.”

The test also did not account for the participant’s level of education, or what time of day the cognitive tests were done, so for now it probably only serves as an excuse for kids to stay up late.

[source:guardian]