What time of day exam at the university directly affects ranking that students get because of them rhythm circadianas shown by a study conducted by scientists from the Universities of Granada (Spain) and Bologna (Italy).

Circadian rhythms are oscillations of variable biological that occur at regular time intervals, such as sleep and wakefulness.

Under them, scientists use a figure of speech related to birds: they often compared morning people to larks, people with better cognitive abilities in the morning, and night people to owls, who tend to be more alert at night, reports University of Granada.

In a study published in the journal Economic journalthe researchers proposed taking students’ circadian rhythms into account (that is, whether they were early morning or late afternoon) to plan their testing time.

In particular, the investigation determines that the time of day at which campus they have maximum performance and get better grades at 13.30, compared to the morning test (09.00). On the other hand, the grades dropped again during the 16.30 exam.

Scientists use the higher education system used in great Britainwhere students are limited to taking only one exam per day, at one of three available times: 9:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.

To get a causal estimate, they take advantage of the fact that exam times are assigned almost randomly Student Services Officein charge of scheduling exams.

According to Alessio Gaggero, a researcher at the Department Quantitative Methods of Economics and Business at the University of Granada and lead author of the study, estimates suggest that “the show The average number of students, almost randomly assigned to the exam at different times of the day, follows an inverted U-shaped relationship.

In particular, scientists observed that the time of day at which campus they have maximum performance and get better scores at 13.30, compared to the morning test (09.00), while their scores decrease again during the exam at 16.30.

According to Gaggero, there are two Possible mechanisms that may explain these findings: circadian processes and sleep deprivation.

“With the circadian processes in mind, during the morning exam student they performed worse by not being tested at the peak of their cognitive ability. For the second mechanism, students do worse on morning exams due to lack of sleep,” he explained.

To identify under what conditions the influence of time of day is strongest, the scientist suggested that there are three main factors: sun exposure, type of cognitive task and age of student.

“The effect of time of day is significantly stronger across sessions exam from winterwhen morning sunlight is limited”, said the researcher, showing in the second place that time influences almost exclusively for tests requiring fluid intelligence, i.e. working memory, thinking logicalproblem solving and abstract reasoning.

Lastly, the effect of O’clock today was “significantly higher” for students under the age of 20, according to the study, which recommends weighting test scores or rescheduling tests according to circadian rhythm patterns.

Something very important, show writerin scenarios where the stakes are high, such as a selectivity exam or a job interview with lasting results.

In general, they conclude, for Mature youth cognitive assessment involving problem solving skills should be transferred to First afternoon hours, especially at a time of year when sun exposure is limited.

On the other hand, another kind of evaluation cognitive can move at the start or end of the work day, as it is less affected by the effects of O’clock Today

With information from EFE