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Ask HN: Intelligence and the time of day

5 points by glynjackson ↗ HN
I'm aware that a lot of scientific individuals read HN. I would like to take this opportunity to ask for feedback/possible explanations relating to intelligence and the time of day.

I'm a developer, I seem to solve most of my problems first thing in the morning between 7am-10am. During the first 3-4 hours of the day I solve most of my problems, problems I couldn't decipher the night before. I have asked other developers if they experience the same issue and most concur.

Is this a real phenomenon? Is there a scientific explanation for this?

I would love to find a way to extend my morning problem solving skills to the rest of the day.

8 comments

[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 34.9 ms ] thread
drKarl
Have you tried a 15 minute power nap?
glynjackson
It takes me around 30 to fall asleep. Tried it once, made me feel a lot worse. Is this something you do?
bjones53
Have you considered that your diet and exercise routines may have a greater impact on your cognitive abilities than sleep? Can you provide more information on your daily routine?
glynjackson
Good point, no, I haven't considered that. I eat breakfast late due to my work routine. If I'm working from home I get up have coffee around 6.30am then work until around 11.30 before getting breakfast. If I'm at the office I up around 5.30, get coffee at the station around 6.30am. I then work on the train until I get in the office around 8.30am I don't eat in this time at all. Maybe I should just not eat, seems I work better without food.
bjones53
The issue probably has something to do with the fact that you don't eat. Assuming that your last meal comes sometime between 7-10pm, that means you're going 13-16 hours without food. It's likely that body directs all energy to digesting food and then recovering from your 'starvation'.

I am not a nutritionist but try eating something small, first thing in the morning, maybe some nuts or a smoothie.

dmurdoch
Do you eat breakfast? If so, how much? Do you then not eat lunch into 12-1 o'clock? It may have to do with diet as well as sleep. I find eating snacks throughout that time, and drinking a decent amount of water helps keep me in that zone for a while longer.
glynjackson
I may keep a diary and try to eat small and often. I don't really have breakfast at all. First meal is always after 11am.
[dead] m0llusk
There is a lot of study about the difference between morning and night people. You can extend performance by being well rested, but beyond that you are stuck with that. Even worse is that morning people tend to suffer not merely from a slow down, but increasingly major lapses in judgement as the day passes.

If you are really interested in this subject then you should do some searches to dig up the relevant research on how work and productivity relate to sleeping and waking patterns.