Tired of waking up alone? It turns out that when you're waking up—and when you're going to sleep—might actually determine your relationship status. Night owls are more likely to be single or in short-term relationships when compared to early birds, according to a recent study in Evolutionary Psychology.
The study involved 501 master's students (348 men, 153 women) at the University of Chicago. The students played a risk-taking game and gave saliva samples to measure their hormone levels before and after the game. They were also asked about their willingness to take risks, their relationship status, the number of sexual partners they've had, and their overall health. A portion of them (201 students) was also asked to describe themselves as a night owl, a morning person, or neither.
Sad news for insomniacs and late-night Netflix watchers: About 38 percent of night owl men and 37 percent of night owl women were single, while only 24 percent of early bird men and 20 percent of early bird women were single. And surprisingly, sleep patterns turned out to be a much stronger predictor of relationship status than risk-taking behavior or hormones.
MORE: Relationship FOMO: When You're Afraid of Being Single
Obviously, this doesn't mean you should change your sleeping pattern just to find a decent date—that'll probably just make you extra crabby during the day (which definitely isn't attractive). Here's the thing: The study defined "single" as someone who didn't have a partner or was in a relationship of six months or less, so plenty of "single" people in the study might already have been dating their soul mates. Plus, the researcher says that being a morning person doesn't necessarily make you luckier in love; it might just be that a factor like personality is responsible for the link, or something else entirely.
And we're willing to bet there are a few other factors that could explain why coupled-up people are less likely to be night owls. For one, people in relationships might just have different hours to accomodate their partners. After all, you're probably a little less likely to stay out partying on a Saturday night when you're in a long-term relationship than when you're single and looking to meet someone. Plus, you may not stay up as late—watching TV, playing video games, or chatting with your friends—when you have someone waiting in bed for you.
MORE: 13 Things You Learn About Dating By the Time You're 30
That said, we had to share this weird association. Tell us: Do you notice that your sleep patterns change when you're in a relationship? Let us know in the comments below.
MORE: 3 Signs You Should Be Single—For Now
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