Morning affect, eveningness, and amplitude distinctness: associations with behavioural indicators of conscientiousness

Morningness is associated with well-being, better sleep quality, and more conscientiousness, while eveningness is associated with negative emotionality, poorer sleep quality, and less conscientiousness. The current study aimed to further understanding of associations with conscientiousness by assessing specific behavioural indicators of conscientiousness, morningness-eveningness, and also the Morning Affect and Distinctness (amplitude of diurnal variation) aspects of circadian functioning. A survey of Chinese university students (N = 369, aged 18–30, mean = 19.48, SD = 1.922; 108 males, 261 females), included the Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale, measures of conscientiousness, mindfulness, life satisfaction, aspects of sleep, and the Behavioural Indicators of Conscientiousness (BIC) scale. Morningness and Morning Affect were positively correlated with life satisfaction, mindfulness, better sleep quality, more conscientiousness, and with BIC including Hardworking, Self-control, and Punctuality. Distinctness showed negative correlations with these variables. Negative correlations between Eveningness and conscientiousness, and the BIC subscales of Hardworking and Cleanliness were no longer significant after controlling for Morning Affect. Mediation analysis showed that the associations between Eveningness and conscientiousness/BIC were mediated by Morning Affect. These results extend previous research by showing associations between circadian functioning and specific behavioural indicators of conscientiousness, and suggest that low Morning Affect may provide a mechanism for the relationship between Eveningness and conscientiousness

Morning affect or sleep inertia? Comparing the constructs and their measurement

The construct of Morning Affect (MA; alertness upon awakening/time required to feel fully awake) emerged from exploratory factor analysis of morningness-eveningness questionnaires, and while it has been equated with morningness-eveningness preference it has much conceptual overlap with sleep inertia (SI; the transitional state between sleep and being fully awake). The current study compared questionnaire measures of these constructs to help clarify their inter-relationships. A volunteer sample of 453 students at an English-medium university in China completed an online survey including the Sleep Inertia Questionnaire (SIQ), the Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale-improved (MESSi), with subscales for MA, Eveningness, and Distinctness (amplitude of diurnal variation), and the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ). Measures of depression, sleep quality, mindfulness, and personality were also included. Exploratory factor analysis of the SIQ, MESSi, and rMEQ items revealed seven factors: Cognitive, Emotional, and Physiological SI, Responses to SI (including one MA item), and Duration of SI (one SIQ item, 3/5 MA items, and one rMEQ item); Morningness-Eveningness (MESSi Eveningness items, plus 3/5 rMEQ items); Distinctness (3/5 MESSi items). These results suggest that Morning Affect may be better characterised as a general measure of sleep inertia, and may contribute to ongoing development/refinement of questionnaire measures of circadian functioning

Validation of the English-language version of the Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale-improved (MESSi), and comparison with a measure of sleep inertia

The Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale-improved (MESSi) assesses three components of circadian functioning: Morning Affect (time to fully awaken), Eveningness (orientation/preference for evening activity), and Distinctness (amplitude of diurnal variations in functioning). Following the original German version, translations of the MESSi (including Spanish, Turkish, and Chinese) have been validated, but validity evidence for the English-language version has been lacking. The current study tested the factor structure, internal consistency, and predicted correlations of the English-language MESSi. A sample of 600 adults from an online recruitment platform (aged 18–78, mean = 41.31, SD = 13.149) completed an online survey including the MESSi, reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), Sleep Inertia Questionnaire (SIQ), and measures of personality and depressive symptoms. Exploratory factor analysis exactly reproduced the three-component structure of Morning Affect (MA), Eveningness, and Distinctness, with all items loading strongly on their respective component. Confirmatory factor analysis of this structure showed acceptable fit. The three subscales showed good internal consistency and replicated previously reported correlations with depressive symptoms, sleep inertia, sleep quality, and personality. Further factor analysis combining the items of the MESSi, rMEQ, and SIQ replicated a previously found seven-factor structure: Cognitive, Emotional, and Physiological sleep inertia (SI), Responses to SI (including one MA item); Duration of SI (one SIQ item, 3/5 MA items); Morningness-Eveningness (MESSi Eveningness items, plus 3/5 rMEQ items); Distinctness (5/5 MESSi items). In conclusion, the English-language MESSi shows sound psychometric properties, but Morning Affect may be more suitably characterised as a measure of sleep inertia duration, rather than morningness preference

Circadian functioning and time perspectives: associations with eveningness, morning affect, and amplitude distinctness

Well-established correlates of morningness-eveningness include those of morningness with more future Time Perspective (TP), and eveningness with more present TP. However, research into these relationships has used unidimensional measures of morningness-eveningness. So, the current study aimed to further understanding by assessing associations between TP and the separate components of Morning Affect (MA: alertness/sleep inertia after awakening) and Distinctness (DI; amplitude of diurnal variations of functioning), in addition to Eveningness (EV; time-of-day preference). Chinese university students (N = 299, aged 18-25, 94 males, 205 females) completed an online survey with questionnaire measures of TP, MA, DI, EV, and other measures including mind wandering, conscientiousness, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and sleep quality. Previously demonstrated correlations were replicated, including positive correlations between Future TP, conscientiousness, and life satisfaction, and Past-negative TP and more negative affect. MA positively correlated with Future TP, and negatively correlated with Past-negative TP and Deviation from Balanced Time Perspective (DBTP); DI positively correlated with Past-negative TP, and with DBTP, and negatively correlated with Future TP; EV positively correlated with Present-hedonistic TP, and negatively correlated with Future TP. The EV-Future TP association was mediated by MA. Path models were consistent with the view that the relationship between EV and less Future TP may involve impaired functioning and reduced self-control/self-regulation associated with experiencing lower Morning Affect. This research shows relationships between time perspectives and specific components of circadian functioning, indicating the value of component-level analysis and the limitations of research utilising unidimensional measures of morningness-eveningness

The association between eveningness and autistic traits: mediating effects of depression and insomnia

There is a lack of research on the relationships between autistic traits and morningness-eveningness. The current research explored associations between autistic traits (preferences for routine, difficulties with imagination, difficulties with social skills, fixations with numbers and patterns, and difficulties with attention switching) and morningness-eveningness, including the component of Morning Affect (alertness/energy upon awakening). The potential mediation effects of depression and insomnia were also tested. 163 adults (university students and general population) completed an online survey including questionnaire measures of autistic traits, morningness-eveningness, depression, and insomnia. Positive correlations were found between most autistic trait subcomponents, depression, and insomnia. The autistic trait of difficulties in attention switching was correlated with more eveningness and with less Morning Affect, but significant correlations were not observed with any other autistic trait. Depression mediated the relationship between eveningness and difficulties in attention switching. Although insomnia alone was not a significant mediator, when combined with depression in a serial mediator model, a significant mediation effect was shown. The current results suggest that greater eveningness may be related with the autistic trait of difficulties in attention switching possibly through the mechanism of increased insomnia and elevated risk for depression. These findings may potentially inform interventions

作息类型与走神的关系—睡眠质量与一天中不同时间段在其中的影响作用

Human biological functioning and behaviour include regular, 24-hour circadian rhythms,&nbsp; such as shown in body temperature variation and the sleep-wake cycle. However, the expression of&nbsp; these rhythms varies by chronotype: individual differences in time-of-day preference. Although&nbsp; most people do not have strong preferences, morning-type people have relatively early rising and&nbsp; bed times, and feel more alert in the morning, while evening-type people show relatively late&nbsp; tendencies. Chronotype has been associated with a variety of cognitive, behavioural and personality&nbsp; characteristics. One curious characteristic of the human mind is its propensity for wandering:&nbsp; wandering away from an ongoing task, and away from the here and now. Mind wandering episodes&nbsp; can be detrimental to task performance, and yet may also be a place where solutions to problems or&nbsp; creative inspiration can be found; but, what relationship is there, if any, between chronotype and&nbsp; mind wandering? Survey and experimental methods were used to address this question, with a&nbsp; focus on the influences of sleep quality and time-of-day. A series of surveys with Chinese adults&nbsp; (aged 18-87, total N &gt; 2500) included the development of a short questionnaire to assess&nbsp; chronotype, and new translations of several scales to assess mind wandering and related&nbsp; phenomena. It was found that the frequency of mind wandering is associated with evening&nbsp; chronotype: people who have a preference for rising and going to bed at relatively later times, and&nbsp; who feel more alert later in the day, report more mind wandering. In addition, it was found that poor&nbsp; sleep quality is a mediator in this relationship between eveningness and mind wandering; lower&nbsp; positive affect and less conscientiousness were likewise found to be mediators. A moderation effect&nbsp; was also shown whereby the negative correlation between mind wandering frequency and positive&nbsp; affect was stronger in evening-types and neutral-types than in morning-types. Furthermore, some&nbsp; evidence for an association between time-of-day and mind wandering was found. Survey results&nbsp; were mixed, with the majority of participants reporting no time-of-day variation in mind wandering&nbsp; frequency, but many participants reported a peak in the afternoon. In addition, there was also some&nbsp; support for a synchrony effect with more mind wandering at the non-preferred time-of-day&nbsp; (morning for evening-types, and evening for morning-types). However, this effect was especially&nbsp; strong in morning-types, and the corresponding peak in mind wandering during the evening could&nbsp; also support the view that mind wandering is associated with the body temperature circadian&nbsp; rhythm. The experimental research gave some further support for this. Participants completed a&nbsp; sustained attention to response task (SART), and a vigilance task, each of which included thought- probes to assess mind wandering; an attentional blink (AB) task with a questionnaire assessment of&nbsp; mind wandering was also undertaken. Participants completed these tasks twice, in a morning&nbsp; session and an afternoon/evening session. A higher frequency of mind wandering in the&nbsp; afternoon/evening was found in the SART, but this was not found in the vigilance or AB tasks,&nbsp; suggesting that the nature of the task may be an influence on time-of-day variation in mind&nbsp; wandering. Also, although no interaction between chronotype and time-of-day was found for the&nbsp; overall frequency of mind wandering, there was some evidence for a synchrony effect for the&nbsp; experience of involuntary autobiographical memories (morningness associated with reporting more&nbsp; in the afternoon/evening, and eveningness associated with reporting more in the morning). Overall,&nbsp; these studies demonstrate that there is a relationship between mind wandering and chronotype,&nbsp; which involves mediation and moderation effects. Further research may extend the network of&nbsp; related variables and elucidate the basis of their associations.<br /

Chronotype, binge-eating, and depression: the mediating effect of skipping breakfast

Evening chronotype is associated with more frequent binge-eating, depression, and less frequent breakfast consumption. The current study investigated whether skipping breakfast mediates the relationships between chronotype and binge-eating, and chronotype and depression. 272 participants completed an online survey with questionnaire measures of chronotype/morningness-eveningness, binge-eating, depression, and meal skipping. Significant positive correlations were found between eveningness and skipping breakfast, eveningness and depression, skipping breakfast and depression, and skipping breakfast and binge-eating. Eveningness was also correlated with binge-eating, and although this was not statistically significant, mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of eveningness on binge-eating through skipping breakfast. The indirect effect of eveningness on depression through skipping breakfast was not significant, but the indirect effect sequentially through breakfast skipping and binge-eating was significant. The current findings indicate potential mechanisms for the inter-relationships between eveningness, breakfast skipping, binge-eating, and depression, which may be more fully investigated in research utilising longitudinal designs

Chronotype and time-of-day correlates of mind wandering and related phenomena

This study investigated the associations between morningness/eveningness and the frequency of mind wandering (MW), daydreaming, mindfulness and attention-related cognitive errors. Self-reported time-of-day for the peak occurrence of these phenomena was also studied. A total of 1852 Chinese, aged 18-82, each completed one of several surveys comprised of various combinations of scales. Morningness was negatively correlated with MW, daydreaming and attention-related cognitive errors, and positively correlated with mindfulness. Additionally, more MW, daydreaming and attention-related cognitive errors, and less mindfulness, were generally reported at the non-preferred time-of-day (evening for morning-types, morning for evening-types), although this interaction was especially strong in morning-types. The implications of these findings for theories of MW are discussed

Mind wandering, sleep quality, affect and chronotype: an exploratory study.

Poor sleep quality impairs cognition, including executive functions and concentration, but there has been little direct research on the relationships between sleep quality and mind wandering or daydreaming. Evening chronotype is associated with poor sleep quality, more mind wandering and more daydreaming; negative affect is also a mutual correlate. This exploratory study investigated how mind wandering and daydreaming are related to different aspects of sleep quality, and whether sleep quality influences the relationships between mind wandering/daydreaming and negative affect, and mind wandering/daydreaming and chronotype. Three surveys (Ns = 213; 190; 270) were completed with Chinese adults aged 18-50, including measures of sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, mind wandering, daydreaming, chronotype and affect (positive and negative). Higher frequencies of mind wandering and daydreaming were associated with poorer sleep quality, in particular with poor subjective sleep quality and increased sleep latency, night-time disturbance, daytime dysfunction and daytime sleepiness. Poor sleep quality was found to partially mediate the relationships between daydreaming and negative affect, and mind wandering and negative affect. Additionally, low positive affect and poor sleep quality, in conjunction, fully mediated the relationships between chronotype and mind wandering, and chronotype and daydreaming. The relationships between mind wandering/daydreaming and positive affect were also moderated by chronotype, being weaker in those with a morning preference. Finally, while daytime sleepiness was positively correlated with daydream frequency, it was negatively correlated with a measure of problem-solving daydreams, indicating that more refined distinctions between different forms of daydreaming or mind wandering are warranted. Overall, the evidence is suggestive of a bi-directional relationship between poor sleep quality and mind wandering/daydreaming, which may be important in attempts to deal with sleep problems and improve sleep quality. These findings and further research on this topic may also have implications for definitions and theories of mind wandering and daydreaming

Age-related chronotype differences in Chinese, and reliability assessment of a reduced version of the Chinese Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire

There has been a lot of international research on morning/evening preference, but relatively little has been done in mainland China. This study investigated whether the trend for increased morning preference in older adults, which has been a consistent finding in chronotype research in many countries, is also found in Chinese. Using the Chinese translation of the MorningnessEveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), it was found that a sample of 305 Beijing residents, aged 1887, showed a significant correlation between MEQ score and age (r = 0.595), and that participants aged 50+ showed significantly more morning preference compared to younger participants. Additionally, a reliability assessment of the 5-question reduced MEQ (rMEQ) was undertaken. Testretest assessment, involving a separate sample (n= 114), showed significant correlations between rMEQ and MEQ scores (r = 0.768), and between chronotype classifications (r = 0.524), supporting the reliability of the Chinese rMEQ