Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 3, 2016 0:42:48 GMT -5
Intelligent People Stay Up Later
There’s an electricity in the moon. A pulse, a magic, an energy. A bewitching entrancement unlike that of the sun. The moon is for things unseen, things done in the shadows and beneath the fog. Under bridges and beneath bed sheets – it’s for wild hearts and unconcerned minds. It’s where plans are made in dark alleyways and secrets revealed under the soft haze of light coming through the cracks of closed shutters. It’s when fugitives escape and kids run away. It’s when girls lose their virginity on torn leather seats and boys get into trouble. It’s when the suffering take their lives and the lonely seek comfort. It’s when we fall in love – that passionate, all-consuming, purposeful love that always looks a little different in the light of day. It’s by night that we see our true desires. We reflect on our moments of unhappiness and those yearnings that are momentarily blinded by the sun. It’s when we become poets and philosophers, martyrs and murderers. It’s when we form regrets of days past and that profound hatred for those who hurt us. It’s when we choke on our tears through deep sobs that can only pour onto dark pillowcases. The night is for passion. It’s for fanaticism, romance and trouble. It’s when your most tender, authentic and suppressed sides come out to play under the nonjudgmental eyes of the stars. It’s for all those things you could never dream of doing by day, under the watchful eyes of the sun.
It’s no wonder night owls are more intelligent than those who hit the hay early. It makes sense that those who absorb the energy of the moon are more creative and open-minded than those who like to catch the early worm. It’s only natural that those who go to bed earlier never experience the psychological and emotional changes that occur under the blanket of darkness.
According to Psychology Today, intelligent people are more likely to be nocturnal than people with lower IQ scores. In a study run on young Americans, results showed that intelligent individuals went to bed later on week nights and weekends than their less intelligent counterparts. In Study Magazine, Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science, reported that IQ average and sleeping patterns are most definitely related, proving that those who play under the moon are, indeed, more intelligent human beings. His analysis goes back to ancient times, asserting the idea that even in primitive years, people have been known to rise and fall with the sun. Average brains were conditioned to follow this sleep pattern, while the more inquisitive, intellectual ones want to defy this pattern and create their own. It’s an unconscious defiance that comes from refusal to acquiesce to the idea of mass appeal.
Bedtimes and wake-up times for Americans in their 20s by IQ as reported by Study Magazine:
Very Dull (IQ < 75) – Weekday: 11:41 p.m. - 7:20 a.m.; Weekend: 12:35 a.m. -10:09 p.m.
Normal (90 < IQ < 110) – Weekday: 12:10 a.m. -7:32 a.m.; Weekend: 1:13 a.m. -10:14 a.m.
Very Bright (IQ > 125) – Weekday: 12:29 a.m. -7:52 a.m.; Weekend: 1:44 a.m. -11:07 a.m.
Those with IQs less than 75 went to bed by 11:30 p.m. on week nights in early adulthood, whereas those with IQs over 125 went to bed around after 12:30 a.m. This is no coincidence.
The data supports the notion that all night owls feel the only real time for living is after everyone’s gone to bed. Only after dark can we learn, absorb and study the effects of the day. It’s a necessary self-reflection that few humans take the time to make. There’s something to be said about those who fight the urge to sleep and explore that block of uncharted time that so many who always have their eyes closed will never see.
They Get Time to Daydream. All those dreams you can’t have during the day, when you’re snapped out of them by friends, family and work, are finally given time to run around. Free to play in the open spaces of your mind, you can swim in all those thoughts you hid under your desk or behind mounds of paperwork. It’s the most creative time of day, along with the most liberating. It’s by the nightfall that your most uninhibited and passionate sides are explored. It’s the time to unleash your innermost desires and allow yourself the freedom that’s masked behind the taunting exposure of sunlight. The night is for testing your limits and challenging yourself. It’s for discovering those passions you suppress all day and breaking down all those rules your parents made to protect you. It’s the time to dig into those hidden corners of your mind and unknown trails of your subconscious. It’s a time of self-expression that can only be unlocked at night and evaluated by day.
They Are Anti-Establishment. Staying up late has been, and always will be, an act of rebellion. A defiance of the 9-to-5, the very habit of staying up late is revolutionary. Since ancient times, there is evidence that society condoned the night owls. In the academic paper, “Why the Night Owl is More Intelligent,” published in the journal Psychology and Individual Differences, it’s widely assumed that for several millennia, humans were largely conditioned to work during the day and to sleep at night. While those who defy the trend, are more likely to “acquire and espouse evolutionarily novel values and preferences than less intelligent individuals.” These “novel values” become the building blocks of leaders. They are the makings of revolutionaries, inventors and explorers. They are the ones who make sacrifices and defy the societal pressure to follow the masses. It’s no surprise that those willing to stay up late, to explore the uncharted territory of night, are more inquisitive. They are more apt to make discoveries and challenge authority. They want to expand their mind, not shut it off just because people tell them it’s time for bed.
They Are More Open-Minded. Things that happen at night are things you can’t get away with during the day. It’s the time of utter licentiousness, of underhanded transactions and unseemly occupations. It’s when the bars are opened and the poets write. It’s when musicians pore over instruments, geniuses have their breakthroughs and artists come alive. According to Esquire, it’s also when you have the most sex. Healthy sex lives and late curfews are indeed, positively correlated. Those reported to have later bedtimes were buying more sex toys and having more sex than their sleepier counterparts. One sex shop worker believes that intelligence is correlated with open-mindedness, which in turns correlates with a more open sex life. Those who are willing to stay awake, who yearn for the mysteries of nightfall, are exposed to an array of discoveries that those who stay asleep will never know. It’s those who are willing to test their limits and explore in the dark who will bring more light to the day.
They Are Proactive. The early bird may get the worm, but the night owl gets the whole jar. While the early risers may get up to see the first worm crawl its way to the wet surface, the night owl gets to them before they burrow under. Getting up early is most definitely proactive, but staying up late is just as fruitful. Those who stay up get hours ahead, rather than the one or two an early riser gains. There are things to be explored at night that early risers will never experience. There are ideas formulated and tasks completed that early risers never get to finish. Because at night, there is dawn and a new day in front of you. But by morning, there’s just the bleakness of night and the daunting end of another day.
Source: Lauren Martin, Elite Daily, July 2014.
