We love it when a science confirms what we’d already suspected – namely that impromptu lie-in we had this morning (the one where we hit snooze, accidentally woke up 90 minutes later, then realised that we were meant to be in a meeting in 17 minutes) will probably made us better people.
Psychologists at Harvard University have revealed that early-morning ‘larks’ (science speak for: smug bastards) and late-night ‘owls’ (i.e. everyone else) have different levels of honesty throughout the day. The thinking being that there’s a direct correlation between how much energy people have, and how ethical they are in their decision-making process.
So, unsurprisingly, although early risers were seen to be more honest than owls in the morning, by the evening, they started to make less ethical decisions than their late-rising counterparts. The study could impact on workplaces where staff are expected to make decisions based on ethics or honesty – particularly where shift patterns are involved.
And if that wasn’t a good enough excuse for a lie-in, 20 schools in Britain are starting an experiment where they allow students aged between 11-16 the chance to start classes after 10am – measuring absenteeism, health, sleep and stress levels when students are allowed a later start. They will also monitor the effect of reducing the use of electronic devices such as mobile phones and iPads at night.
Project researcher Paul Kelley introduced later start times when he was head teacher at a high school in Tyneside – as a result absenteeism fell by a third and academic performance dramatically improved.
Basically, having a lie-in doesn't just feel amazing, it also makes us more effective, more honest, and just BETTER. All excellent reasons not to feel guilty when you hit the snooze button for the third time, thus making it impossible for you to eat breakfast, put on some make-up, or indeed have a shower before work.
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Picture: Ada Hamza
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.