Benjamin Franklin's famous quote, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," has been passed down as a guideline for sleeping and living for generations, but if one's lifestyle allows it, being late to bed and late to rise is not a bad thing at all. In fact, research shows that staying up late at night allows for significant boosts in creativity, productivity and possibly even I.Q.

A 2009 study in Liege, Belgium kept track of 15 self-described "night owls" and 16 "morning birds". The participants maintained their regular sleep schedules, and researchers measured their brain activity upon waking up. This was repeated 10.5 hours later. The participants all showed similar levels of brain activity and functionality when they first woke up, but 10.5 hours later the "night owls" showed "significantly higher levels of activity in brain regions linked to attention and the circadian master clock, compared to [morning birds]". Correlation does not equal causation, but nevertheless this study implies that night owls have much more mental endurance and can stay active and attentive with relative ease.

In addition, night owls are entirely capable of modifying their sleep schedule to get up earlier if need be, while morning birds have a more difficult time deviating from their regular habits. This flexibility in circadian rhythms makes night owls open to different kinds of work and social schedules which may not be as easy for morning birds to adhere to. As a result, night owls tend to be more adaptive and have an easier time balancing professional and social life.

Intelligence and creativity are two traits that are often associated with night owls, and perhaps rightly so. Staying up late and waking up late can be described as being "evolutionarily novel" because it goes against what our ancestors were able to do, and nocturnal activities were quite rare in the ages before computers, television and smartphones. “More intelligent children are more likely to grow up to be nocturnal adults who go to bed late and wake up late on both weekdays and weekends,” concluded a study at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

While being a late riser is sometimes labeled as "unproductive" or lazy, it's important to remember that a delayed circadian rhythm can be a sign of something good. Don't skimp on sleep, but embrace your genes.