The Morning Myth

CHAPTER 8 Night Owls Are Smarter Than Early Risers: Night Owls Show Overall Higher Intelligence Than Morning People

You now know that night owls make more money and are more successful, so it’s only logical to assume that they must be more intelligent.

If you assumed so, you are correct. Studies show that night owls are more intelligent, have higher cognitive ability, are more creative, and much more.

Satoshi Kanazawa, in an article in Psychology Today dated May 9, 2010, posits a hypothesis based on observation of certain cultures who rise and go to sleep each day in rhythm with the sun, versus those who stay up past dark and use those hours productively. To quote the article,

Daily activities begin early in a Yanomamö village, and despite the inevitable last-minute visiting, things are usually quiet in the village by the time it is dark. Among the Maasai in Kenya, the day begins about 6 a.m., when the sun is about to rise, and most evenings are spent quietly chatting with family members indoors. If the moon is full then it is possible to see almost as well as during the day, and people take advantage of the light by staying up late and socializing a great deal. Among the Ache in Paraguay, after cooking and consuming food, evening is often the time of singing and joking. Eventually band members drift off to sleep, with one or two nuclear families around each fire.”

He goes on to note that there is no indication in any of the enthographic evidence that any sustained nocturnal ...