Research from Dr. Stuart Fogel, a cognitive neuroscientist, professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Psychology, and Director of the university’s Sleep Research Laboratory, is offering insight into how the impact of a person’s daily rhythm and activity levels while awake and asleep relate to human intelligence.
Fogel’s team identified participants’ chronotype - their evening or morning tendencies, related to when they prefer to do demanding things - by monitoring their daily preferences and biological rhythms. He explains that after accounting for key factors, including bedtime and age, they found morning types tend to have superior verbal ability. “This outcome was surprising to us and signals that this is much more complicated than anyone thought before,” Fogel says, adding, “Our brain really craves regularity and for us to be optimal in our own rhythm is to stick to that schedule and not be constantly trying to catch up.”