New Research Explains Why It's Not Productive For Students To Study Before 11 am [Video]

Students would probably rejoice hearing a bit of research to be on their side. The research determines that the best hours for students to learn should be 11 am, or even at noon, citing it the optimal time to start learning.

According to the study, conducted by The Open University (OU) and the University of Nevada, it is most effective for students to take in lessons between the hours of 11 am to 9:30 pm. One reason described in the study is that young people are not at their cognitive peak during the early parts of the day.

Two-hundred first and second-year students at the OU and the University of Nevada, were asked to fill out surveys that included queries regarding their study patterns, their most preferred sleeping hours, including the hours they feel they are at their cognitive best. Results of the survey revealed that twice as many students consider themselves "evening" people rather than "morning" people, with cognitive abilities that are most productive between 11 am and 9:30 pm, according to IFLScience.

It is worth noting that the study is based on the students' self-reported chronotypes and the times they think, they are at their best. In addition, worth of note is that every single start time put one or more chronotypes at a disadvantage, with no time satisfying all students.

Daily Mirror reported, students do better if they align their study time to their personal rhythm at the time of day they know they would be most effective, according to Paul Kelley of the Open University. He adds that getting up early might be linked to the rise of mental health problems for the student.

The study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, states that biological changes commencing in puberty, shift natural wake and sleep times by up to three hours later in the day. This shift is found to be greatest at the age of 19, before returning to an earlier pattern when they hit their mid-20s.

The study suggests that if universities were to chose the optimal starting time for an average undergraduate student, the group suggested anywhere between 11 am and 1 pm would be optimal.