Researchers reveal brain connections that disadvantage night owls

I feel much better now that I am retired and don't have to force my sleep patterns to fit day jobs.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-02/uob-rrb021319.php

Public Release: 14-Feb-2019
University of Birmingham

'Night owls' - those who go to bed and get up later - have fundamental differences in their brain function compared to 'morning larks' , which mean they could be disadvantaged by the constraints of a normal working day.

Research led by the University of Birmingham found that individuals whose internal body clock dictates that they go to bed and wake up very late (with an average bedtime of 2:30am and wake-up time of 10:15am) have lower resting brain connectivity in many of the brain regions that are linked to the maintenance of consciousness.

Importantly, this lower brain connectivity was associated with poorer attention, slower reactions and increased sleepiness throughout the hours of a typical working day.

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around 40-50 per cent of the population identify as having a preference for later bed times and for getting up after 8.20am the researchers say much more needs to be done to explore negative implications for this group.

The lead researcher, Dr Elise Facer-Childs, of the University of Birmingham's Centre for Human Brain Health, says: "A huge number of people struggle to deliver their best performance during work or school hours they are not naturally suited to. There is a critical need to increase our understanding of these issues in order to minimise health risks in society, as well as maximise productivity."

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"To manage this, we need to get better at taking an individual's personal body clock into account - particularly in the world of work. A typical day might last from 9am-5pm, but for a night owl, this could result in diminished performance during the morning, lower brain connectivity in regions linked to consciousness and increased daytime sleepiness. If, as a society, we could be more flexible about how we manage time we could go a long way towards maximising productivity and minimising health risks."