Are Night Owls Brighter, or Just Late-Night TV Watchers?

There are some things that really go oddly together, like sleep and intelligence. This week I saw several blog posts and tweets referring to Psychology Today article “Intelligence: The Evolution of Night Owls.” That people are talking about the article demonstrates the distressing power of the social Web. The article posted on Nov. 1, 2009, so it’s not exactly new. Matthew Hutson recounts—and without substantive details—a sleep and intelligence study.

He summarizes statements by Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist with the London School of Economics and Political Science and Psychology Today blogger, about the correlation between sleep and intelligence. Satoshi gives good details in May post: “Why Night Owls Are More Intelligent than Morning Larks.” His post is substantive reading. Matthew summarizes the key findings as such:

Night Lights

Bedtimes and wake-up times for Americans in their 20s by IQ.

Very Dull (IQ < 75)

Weekday: 11:41 P.M.-7:20 A.M.

Weekend: 12:35 A.M.-10:09 A.M.

Normal (90 < IQ < 110)

Weekday: 12:10 A.M.-7:32 A.M.

Weekend: 1:13 A.M.-10:14 A.M.

Very Bright (IQ > 125)

Weekday: 12:29 A.M.-7:52 A.M.

Weekend: 1:44 A.M.-11:07 A.M.

But I got to thinking about another—fun—interpretation of the data:

Night Brights

Bedtimes and wake-up times for Americans in their 20s by late-night TV watching

Very Dull (Those who watch the 10 or 11 o`clock news before going to sleep)

Weekday: 11:41 P.M.-7:20 A.M.

Weekend: 12:35 A.M.-10:09 A.M.

Normal (Those who watch David Letterman—or Conan O`Brien if he still had the Tonight Show—before going to sleep)

Weekday: 12:10 A.M.-7:32 A.M.

Weekend: 1:13 A.M.-10:14 A.M.

Very Bright (Those who watch Craig Ferguson or Jimmy Kimmel before going to sleep)

Weekday: 12:29 A.M.-7:52 A.M.

Weekend: 1:44 A.M.-11:07 A.M.

No one in their 20s with meaningful IQ watches Jay Leno.

Perhaps the weekend hours deserve a little explaining, too:

  • The Very Dull go to sleep after watching Saturday Night Live.
  • Normal folks watch Saturday Night Live and have sex afterwards.
  • The Very Bright skip Saturday Night Live and have more sex.

Granted, this is interpretation of a survey I’ve never seen. But it’s funny coincidence how neatly those bedtimes line up with the end times of late-night programming.

By the way, my sleeping pattern is similar to the “Very Bright” group, definitely during my 20s and still so today (when schedule permits). I’ve always been more the night owl. You?

Image Credit: Kara Allyson

Editor’s Note: This post was moved to joewilcox.com from oddlytogether.com on Sept. 27, 2010.

Do you have a psychology story that you’d like told? Please email Joe Wilcox: joewilcox at gmail dot com.