What’s the best time to study—morning or evening? Expert explains

Decoding morning-person vs. evening-person

According to Dr Balakrishnan, our cognitive performance largely depends on our chronotype — an individual’s natural sleep–wake cycle linked to internal biological processes.

“The typical categories include morning types, evening types, and those in between,” he explained. “Preferences for these are thought to be strongly linked to cognitive functioning.”

Evening Types

Adults who feel more active during the evening hours tend to perform better on cognitive tests than those who are more active in the morning. “In one analysis, evening types scored about 13.5% higher than morning types in one group and 7.5% higher in another,” said Dr Balakrishnan, explaining that this is because evening types feel most alert and productive during the evening and nighttime hours.

He added that objective brain tests support this pattern: “Evening chronotypes show better attention and alertness between 4–6 pm — their optimal cognitive window.”

Morning Types

Morning types, on the other hand, tend to perform their best earlier in the day. “In studies analysed, these individuals typically present the lowest cognitive scores compared to intermediate and evening types,” noted Dr Balakrishnan. “However, their alertness and productivity peak between 8:00 and 10:00 am — which is when they should handle complex, high-focus tasks.”

The Intermediate Types

Not everyone fits neatly into one category. Some people exhibit mild preferences for either morning or evening activities.

“These individuals tend to score higher than pure morning types — around 10.6% and 6.3% higher in two analysed groups — but lower than the evening types,” explained the expert.

The key, he said, lies in knowing your own rhythm: “The closer your work or study schedule aligns with your biological rhythm, the sharper your focus, retention, and performance will be.”

Morning vs evening: Which one is more efficient? (Photo: Freepik)

How sleep affects learning and retention

Sleep quality, duration, and timing play a critical role in determining how efficiently we learn and retain information. “Sleep duration affects brain function directly,” said Dr Balakrishnan. “A 7–9 hour window allows the brain to consolidate memory, improve reasoning, and speed up information processing.”

Less than seven hours — or more than nine — can be harmful. “Chronic sleep restriction leads to slowed responses and a drop in attention and reasoning. After just a few days, critical thinking can fall by 17%, and working memory by 13%,” he warned.

Among students, inadequate sleep is directly linked to lower academic performance. “In college-age individuals, lack of sleep predicts a noticeable decline in GPA,” he noted.

Why sleep timing matters

According to Dr Balakrishnan, sleeping soon after learning significantly improves memory consolidation. “Sleep following learning has a persistent benefit on declarative memory — the kind we use for facts and recall. Forgetting rates are much higher when learning happens in the morning and sleep follows much later.”

Interestingly, this benefit is not just due to fatigue. “Even in sleep-deprived subjects, recovery sleep later improves memory consolidation, suggesting that sleep actively facilitates this process,” he added.

Neurological studies indicate that the brain’s alertness and processing efficiency fluctuate throughout the day, influenced by the circadian rhythm and sleep mechanisms.

“Among evening chronotypes, brain scans show higher alpha and beta wave activity in regions linked to memory, attention, and alertness during the evening hours,” said Dr. Balakrishnan.

These EEG patterns correspond to higher perception and faster information differentiation.

He elaborated that event-related potential (ERP) studies — which measure brain response speed — show “evening chronotypes have shorter P300 latency, meaning faster neural processing in the evening. In contrast, morning types display slower responses outside their peak hours.”

How sleep improves memory and creativity

“Sleep doesn’t just rest the brain — it teaches it,” said Dr. Balakrishnan. During deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), the brain replays hippocampus-dependent memories, strengthening them — a process known as memory consolidation. “Low acetylcholine levels during this phase aid the replay of information, solidifying learning.”

Interestingly, he added, sleep prioritises weak memories: “Fast sleep spindles, which occur in non-REM sleep, are especially linked with retaining weakly encoded material. So if you barely grasped a concept during the day, sleep might just save it.”

As for creative insight, Dr. Balakrishnan said, “Sleep — particularly stages rich in REM — has been shown to enhance problem-solving and emotional memory. It’s why people often wake up with new ideas or clarity after rest.”

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