When do you hit the pillow? Some of us love to wake up with the dawn, while others can't fall asleep until well past midnight. But are there really any big difference between night owls and early birds? Well Sleepopolis, the mattress review site, ran a very interesting survey that showed the difference between those of us that love to hit the hay circa 8 p.m. and those who like to rock n' roll all night. By rock n' roll, I obviously mean scroll Instagram and/or Reddit until the very early hours.
The company surveyed 2,000 Americans, with half self-identifying as early birds and the other half being night owls — and found some very distinct differences between the two. On average, the early birds in the group rise at 6:15 a.m. and night owls go to bed at 2:55 a.m. THAT'S ALMOST THREE IN THE MORNING. It's enough to make the early bird in me clutch my damn pearls. But the difference between night owls and early birds went way beyond their actual sleep habits — like the fact that early birds of the group tend to make more money and have more sex, for starters.
If you're a night owl, don't panic — really, the important thing is to get a healthy amount of sleep, no matter where you get it. “More important than being a night owl or an early bird is making sure to have a consistent sleep schedule and get enough rest,” Logan Block, the director of content at Sleepopolis, said in a press release. But it is really interesting to see the difference that your chronotype can make. Here's what the survey found.
1Early Birds Sleep More
This one makes sense — working a 9 to 5 is set up for those who want to get up in the morning and lets early birds get more sleep than night owls. But that extra hour can make a big difference to your quality of life, especially when you consider the cumulative effect.
2Night Owls Have Less Sex
I would have thought that night owls had more time to get it on, but it turns out they're only averaging twice a week rather than the early birds' three times. It's probably because they're not getting enough sleep to fuel that extra session.
3Early Birds Are More Likely To Be Married
Yup – not sure why, but early birds in this survey were more likely to tie the knot, while night owls were more likely to still be single.
4Night Owls Are Bigger Perfectionists
There were some major personality differences associated with the two groups in the survey. Early birds were more likely to describe themselves as happy, friendly, and confident — while night owls were were more likely to say they were perfectionists, sarcastic, and shy. I mean, even as someone fluent in sarcasm, I feel like this survey is not showing night owls in their best light. YOU HAVE A LOT TO GIVE, GUYS.
5Early Birds Are More Likely To Believe In Love At First Sight
While an early bird from this survey was more likely to believe you can fall in love at first sight, apparently night owls were more likely to go hunting for the Loch Ness monster. All that late night internet searching can take you down some weird paths.
6Night Owls Prefer Reading And Sleeping
I love that "sleeping" is a hobby for night owls — although it seems like they may just be trying to catch up on it. Meanwhile, early birds are more likely to be out cooking or hiking, like the smug idiots we are.
7Earl Birds Earn More Money
That's right — early birds in this survey are getting that dolla dolla. Their average income was $42,000 — a full four grand more than the night owls, who averages $38,000. It is starting to seem like the world is a little against night owls.
Granted, this was just a survey with 2,000 participants, and by no means representative of the whole world of early risers and night owls — still, it's always a little fun to use data like this to call out for friends. The main takeaway here is that sleep is important, and we can all stand to do some self-checks every now and then to make sure the way we're getting it is working for us and our overall happiness.
