Night tests are commonplace at Iowa State, and while students who stay up all night cramming for that elusive “A” are probably glad the test is not early the next morning, not all students like taking tests at night.

For some students, night tests just provide an extra eight hours to cram. But for those people known as earlybirds, this tradition could result in an academic catastrophe.

Earlybirds tend to hit the sack at 9 p.m. nightly and wake up at 6 a.m. every morning. The earlybird’s antithesis, the night owl, can stay awake well into the night, but will generally refuse to roll out of bed until the latest possible minute in the morning.

Mark Hislop, supervisor of the Sleep Disorders Center at Mary Greeley Medical Center, said the average college student is a little of both. He said everyone operates on an inner time clock, called circadian rhythm.

“What happens with the college student most often is they stay up later and get up earlier, causing their rhythm to be off,” Hislop said.

He said staying up later would be fine medically, as long as the student slept later in the morning.

“What most often results from a college student’s schedule is sleep deprivation,” Hislop said.

Sleep deprivation makes studying at any time difficult, he said.

Hislop said the prime studying hours for most students are between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., assuming their circadian rhythms are on track.

Josh Lee, freshman in psychology, said he feels night testing has never really made a difference in his grades, but he prefers not to study at night.

“I believe my best studying takes place in the early afternoon,” Lee said. “It helps to have the sun shining because it makes it less likely for me to become drowsy, and my brain seems to be in full swing by that time.”

Recent studies have shown a connection between sleep-type personalities and genetics.

Frederick Gibbons, professor of psychology, said the connection between sleeping preferences and genetics is likely, but students’ exam performances shouldn’t be affected as long as they get enough rest.

The Sleep Disorders Center offered a few pointers to help students sleep well:

• Eat a light snack before bed.

• Keep your room dark and at a comfortable temperature.

• Exercise daily.

Hislop said with these tips in mind and a little studying, students should be well on their way to a successful next exam — even if it is at night.