Early risers are healthier, happier, slimmer and more productive than night owls, according to a study presented to the British Psychological Society and reported by the Telegraph.
Researchers with Roehampton University in the U.K. surveyed 1,068 adults about their sleeping and eating habits, their happiness, their physical health and their productivity. Morning people, who accounted for 13 percent of respondents, tended to rise at 6:58 a.m. on average, while evening people, who made up six percent of the respondents, tended to get rolling just before 9 a.m. on average.
"There are morning people and evening people, and morning people tend to be healthier and happier as well as having lower body mass indices," explained lead author Dr. Joerg Huber. "Maybe morning types are just better suited to this industrial world we are in than late risers."
The differences between the two groups are small but significant, says Huber. Still, the researchers do acknowledge that there are certain advantages to being an evening person, such as jobs that require a person to work late.