Are you happy as an early bird, or night owl?

New research backs up the old adage "Early to bed and early to rise makes a [wo]man healthy, wealthy, and wise." (iStock)

People who rise with the sun are happier and more satisfied with life, suggests a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto.

The study, which was published in the May issue of the journal Emotion, expands on previous studies by working with people along a wider age range.

"Past research has suggested that morning-type people report feeling happier than evening-type people, and this research was only on young adults," researcher Renée Biss, told LiveScience.

"We found that older adults reported greater positive emotion than younger adults, and older adults were more likely to be morning-type people than younger adults," said Biss, who worked with psychology professor and senior scientist Lynn Hasher.

Early risers in both the 17 to 38 and 59 to 79 age group reported being happier that their late rising counterparts. All the subjects answered questionnaires about how healthy they feel, how happy they consider themselves, and their preferred time of day.

Biss, who found that morning types reported feeling both healthier and happier, also noted that their schedules are more in sync with society's clock.

"Society's expectations are far more organized around a morning-type person's schedule," she said.

Do you fall into either extreme? Has your sleeping scheduled changed with your age? If you could schedule your own day, where would you place your working hours?


(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' replies.)