Are you a night owl or an early riser? One group's brains work a lot better.
Time to reset your alarm clocks.
An early rise and a night owl.
A common belief in American culture is that people who wake up early have all the advantages. As the sayings go, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,” and “Early bird catches the worm.”
It makes sense. Early risers are seen as better disciplined and their schedules are more aligned with modern-day work culture.
However, a new study by researchers at Imperial College London has found the opposite: Night owls do better on cognitive tests that measure their brain function than those who get up at the crack of dawn. The researchers embarked on the study to help people suffering from age-related cognitive decline.
“Our interest in this topic stemmed from a broader curiosity about how lifestyle factors, particularly sleep, influence brain health. Given the aging population and the rising prevalence of cognitive decline, understanding the relationship between sleep patterns and cognitive function could help develop better interventions and health guidelines to maintain cognitive health in older adults,” study authors Raha West and Daqquing Ma said, according to Psypost.
To determine whether early risers' or night owls' brains work best, the researchers asked just under 27,000 participants the number of hours they sleep at night and what time they go to bed. They also tested them on reasoning, memory, verbal and mathematical intelligence, reaction time and prospective memory.
After crunching the numbers, they found that night owls did much better on the cognitive tests than those who got up early. “Our study found that adults who are naturally more active in the evening (what we called 'eveningness') tended to perform better on cognitive tests than those who are 'morning people,'" West said, according to New Atlas.
The researchers studied 2 different groups of people. The night owls in Group 1 scored 13.5% better on their brain function tests than early risers, and the night owls in Group 2 did 6.5% better.
Further, the folks in the middle (neither night owls nor early risers) performed better than the early risers (10.6% and 6.3%).
“In my expert opinion, the main takeaway should be that the cultural belief that early risers are more productive than ‘night owls’ does not hold up to scientific scrutiny,” Dr. Jessica Chelekis, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability Global Value Chains and a sleep expert from Brunel University London, told Science Media Centre. “While everyone should aim to get good-quality sleep each night, we should also try to be aware of what time of day we are at our (cognitive) best and work in ways that suit us. Night owls, in particular, should not be shamed into fitting a stereotype that favors an ‘early to bed, early to rise’ practice.”
The study provides good ammunition for night owls, often stereotyped as lazy party animals, to push back against those who like to get up when the rooster crows. The question remains: Why do early risers have so much brain fog? A night owl may presume they are still sleepy from waking up so early.
West says that the study shouldn’t be used to judge early risers and that those who’d like to change their sleep habits should do so.
“It's important to note that this doesn't mean all morning people have worse cognitive performance," West said. "The findings reflect an overall trend where the majority might lean towards better cognition in the evening types. While it’s possible to shift your natural sleep habits by gradually adjusting your bedtime, increasing evening light exposure, and keeping a consistent sleep schedule, completely changing from a morning to an evening person is complex.”
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."