CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SUES GOV. NEWSOM OVER NEW TRANSGENDER BILL NIGHT OWLS CHALLENGE EARLY BIRDS FOR COGNITIVE EDGE, STUDY SUGGESTS
A California school district has sued Gov. Gavin Newsom over a new law that prohibits schools from adopting parental notification policies.
Newsom signed the first-inthe-nation legislation Monday which makes California the first state to stop school districts from notifying parents if their child starts using different pronouns or identifies as a different gender than what’s on their school record.
Several California school boards have discussed or voted on policies that would require schools to disclose students’ gender identity to their parents or guardians, regardless of the student’s consent.
Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County last year over its parental notification policy. And in April, the California Department of Education filed a lawsuit against Rocklin Unified School District in Placer County over a similar policy.
The early bird may not always get the worm, at least when it comes to cognitive performance. A study from Imperial College London suggests night owls — those who feel more alert and productive in the evening — tend to outperform their early rising counterparts on brain tests.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 26,000 participants and found evening people scored up to 13.5% higher than morning people on cognitive assessments. Even those without a strong preference for morning or night still performed better than early risers.
“Our study found that adults who are naturally more active in the evening tended to perform better on cognitive tests than those who are ‘morning people.’ Rather than just being personal preferences, these chronotypes could impact our cognitive function,” lead author Dr. Raha West explained.
The study accounted for age, gender, smoking, drinking, health conditions and other factors. Younger people and those without chronic illnesses generally did better on the tests. Healthier lifestyle choices were also linked to better brain performance.