Are you happiest when the morning is quiet and the day feels untouched? Or do you come alive when the sun goes down and everyone else is winding down? Your favourite time of day may seem like a simple lifestyle preference, but psychologists have long studied the relationship between morningness and eveningness, often referred to as a person’s chronotype or diurnal preference. Research suggests that the time when you naturally feel most alert and comfortable can be associated with certain personality traits. That does not mean your favourite hour can define your personality. But it may offer an interesting glimpse into how you naturally function. Scroll down to read more…
People who genuinely enjoy mornings are often described as “morning types”. A 2010 meta-analysis titled “Circadian preferences and personality traits: A meta-analysis” looked at 35 independent samples involving 8,589 participants. A 2009 study, “Relationship between Circadian Typology and Big Five Personality Domains, ” examined 503 participants and found that morning types scored higher in conscientiousness, while evening types scored higher in neuroticism than morning types.But being a night owl does not automatically mean you are less organised or more emotional.
Research has repeatedly found an association between morning preference and conscientiousness, the Big Five personality trait linked to organisation, responsibility and self-discipline. It found that conscientiousness had the strongest relationship with morningness, while agreeableness also showed a smaller association. So if your ideal day starts with coffee, a quiet house and a productive morning, you may simply have a stronger preference for structure and getting things done early. For evening people, the day may not really begin until everyone else thinks it is ending. Evening types tend to prefer staying up later, waking later and doing their best thinking or socialising later in the day. Some studies have linked eveningness with traits such as extraversion, novelty-seeking and, in certain samples, neuroticism. Your sleep schedule can also be influenced by age, work, social commitments, genetics and your environment.
They tend to feel more energetic earlier in the day, prefer earlier sleep schedules and may find it easier to get started before noon.
