Circadian preference and physical and cognitive performance in adolescence: A scoping review

ABSTRACT

Adolescence is a crucial period of development which coincides with changes in circadian rhythmicity. This may augment the impact of circadian preference on performance in this group. We aimed to scope the literature available on chronotypes and their effect on physical and mental aspects of performance in adolescents. Studies were identified by systematically searching bibliographical databases and grey literature. The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire was the most frequently reported tool for circadian preference assessment. Academic achievement was the most prevailing outcome, with evidence suggesting that morning type adolescents tend to outperform evening types, yet the results vary depending on multiple factors. Performance in tests of intelligence and executive functions was generally better at optimal times of the day (synchrony effect). Physical performance was examined in 8 studies, with very heterogeneous outcomes. Although the associations between circadian preference and performance in adolescents are evident in some areas, there are many factors that may be involved in the relationship and require further investigation. This review highlights the assessment of physical performance in relation to chronotypes, the multidimensional assessment of circadian preference, and the need for longitudinal studies as priorities for further research.

Protocol: OSF Registration – Public registration, DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/UCA3Z

KEYWORDS:

• Circadian rhythm
• circadian preference
• chronotype
• morningness-eveningness
• performance
• adolescence

Acknowledgments

This research is part of the PhD project of the first author, V.V., supervised by J.S., A.T., and D.S., with the contribution of J.B. We wish to thank Ishbel Leggat, Academic Support Librarian at the University of Edinburgh, for her contributions and support in developing the search strategy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Search strategies and data from the included studies can be found in Supplementary materials and Table 1 respectively.

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2023.2256901.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.