File this under one of those things that should have been obvious but wasn’t. Or at least wasn’t because I never thought about it: researchers did a study of baseball players and found that players who classify themselves as morning people do better in day games and night owls do better in night games. There’s more subtlety and detail to that in the article, but that’s the gist.
To be honest, though, I’m not certain that being a “night person” or a “morning person” is as bright distinction as most people make it out to be. I was most definitely a night person until I became a father, after which staying up until 2AM and sleeping late wasn’t an option. Sure, you change habits -- I started drinking coffee when I was 33-years-old and I force myself go to bed earlier now -- but I’d easily have to classify myself a morning person when it comes to effectiveness these days, even if I still long for the time when I could stay up late and sleep late. I think that in this people act like they act with a lot of things: they choose what they like and then claim that was the only option available to them.
Neat study anyway.