Is it Better to Be a Morning-Bird or a Night Owl?

5 Benefits of Waking Up Early

The early bird catches the worm, so the expression goes. But is there really any truth behind this? According to recent studies, there are actual recognizable benefits to waking up early.

Benefits of Waking Up Early

1. Becoming an early riser will make you more successful. It is plain and simple. A 2008 study out of Texas University concluded that those students identifying themselves as morning people earned a full point higher on their GPAs than those who identified themselves as night owls. Who knew waking up early could be the difference between a 4.0 and a 3.0?
2. Studies have shown that morning people are actually happier than night owls. We are not just referring to being happier for those 15 minutes in the morning, but rather they are happier with life overall. Night owl tendencies tend to fade as people age, and the study says this switch to a morning-focused schedule could be why older adults are happier than younger ones. The study involved two populations: the first was made up of 435 adults ages 17 to 38, and the second of 297 older adults, ages 59 to 79. Both groups answered questions about their emotional state, how healthy they feel and their preferred “time of day.”

“We found that older adults reported greater positive emotion than younger adults, and older adults were more likely to be morning-type people than younger adults,” Biss said. “The ‘morningness’ was associated with greater happiness emotions in both age groups.”

3. Morning people are often in better shape than night owls. The reasoning behind this is simple. Waking up early allows people extra time to exercise before the family is awake or before their official work day begins. For this reason, many successful businesspeople wake up early. This morning exercise helps to boost mood and provides energy for the rest of the day.