Larks or Owls?

Larks or owls? What is your chronotype (your preference for when you sleep and wake) and does that actually predict your personality? 

"Larks” are up and at it early in the morning, and tend to hit the sack at a respectable evening hour. “Owls” on  the other hand, are most alert at night, and typically turn in long after dark. They need a lot of time to wake up and to start working and be productive.

Are there advantages attributed to either category? Does the old adage, "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” hold true? 

There have been no indications that larks have a propensity to accumalate more assets than owls. However, in one test, owls outperformed larks on most of the intelligence measures—with significant differences on working memory and processing speed and creativity. The wise old owl indeed! 

As for health, some studies indicate that owls were much more likely to be current or lifelong smokers, much less likely to stop smoking, and were at a much higher risk for nicotine dependence. Another study found that owls consume more alcohol than larks. We'll leave it to you to deduce conclusions about the health of owls. 

A different character inventory found that larks scored higher than owls in terms of persistence and cooperation. Larks tended to be more compliant and conformist than owls and so were regarded as being more agreeable and conscientious than owls, who tended to be procrastinators and risk takers. 

What about general happiness? Apparently, owls being forced to fit into a societal 9-5 working day, do lose sleep and suffer emotional distress. Waking up early may indeed make one "happy as a lark". 

In the end, making the most of your chronotype and associated personality is a matter of knowing yourself and finding situations that play to your strengths.