Nicholas Boothman, Life Strategist and Bestselling Author, Responds to Study Showing “Night Owls” Take Bigger Risks than “Early Birds”
Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) April 07, 2014 -- Nicholas Boothman (http://www.NicholasBoothman.com), a prolific international speaker, career and life strategist, and bestselling author of How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less, is responding to a recent study that shows that “night owls,” those who stay up late at night, take bigger risks than “early birds,” people who wake up early in the morning.
Researchers at the University of Chicago found that there is a correlation between personal sleeping habits and the propensity to take risks, with night owls being higher risk-takers than early birds. The authors of the study discovered that, as expected, male subjects had greater cortisol and testosterone levels than women, but in an unexpected twist, female night owls had cortisol levels similar to their male night owl counterparts. Higher levels of cortisol have been connected with greater cognitive function; type A personalities are known to have high cortisol levels. (Source: Maestripieri, D., “Night Owl Women are Similar to Men in Their Relationship Orientation, Risk-taking Propensities, and Cortisol Levels: Implications for the Adaptive Significance and Evolution of Eveningness,” An International Journal of Evolutionary Approaches to Psychology and Behavior web site, February 2014; http://www.epjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/EP1201130147.pdf.)
“The study also found that sleeping preferences are linked to other personality traits. When compared to early birds, night owls are more likely to be single or in short-term relationships. On top of that, male night owls report twice as many sexual partners than male early birds,” says Nicholas Boothman. “The researchers also replicated the same main results of higher risk-taking in night owls with an expanded non-student population.”
Boothman explains that, taken as a whole, these findings suggest high cortisol levels could be a biological marker explaining why night owls are higher risk-takers. It also illustrates that people take different types of risk and, as a result, there is a different kind of risk/reward interplay.
“Whether we have high or low levels of testosterone and cortisol, there is more to us than our genetic makeup,” he adds. “When it comes right down to it, people are more resourceful, resilient, and stronger than they think they are. Once people discover the life-affirming benefits of taking calculated risks, the greater the courage they’ll have to take more.”
“For example, in business, profit is the reward for risk-taking, while with love, finding your soul mate is the reward for taking risks. There is also a risk/reward consequence for taking reckless risks,” Boothman concludes. “The key is to consistently stack the odds in your favour. This requires us knowing and taking responsibility for what is under our control and what isn’t.”
A prolific international speaker and career and life strategist, Nicholas Boothman is the bestselling author of both How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less and How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less. As an internationally renowned consultant and keynote speaker, Nicholas Boothman has been called upon by more than 500 corporations, thousands of small businesses, and six of the world’s leading business schools to rally and inspire their staff to take risks, connect, communicate, and articulate their business ideas in ways that convince. A veritable who’s-who of the corporate world, some of Nicholas Boothman’s clients include AT&T, The New Yorker, Johnson & Johnson, the Royal Bank of Canada, JP Morgan Chase, the Harvard Business School, the Queen’s Business School, and the Sorbonne in Paris. Nicholas Boothman has also been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and The Early Show. To learn more about Nicholas Boothman, visit his web site at http://www.NicholasBoothman.com.
Nicholas Boothman, Nicholas Boothman, http://www.nicholasboothman.com/, +1 914-620-1170, [email protected]
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