Scientists just discovered the time of day when you’re smarter, more focused, and at your cognitive best

I’ve been out of school for decades, but I still take tests. Sometimes I take actual tests, like when I took the three-hour Class A Contractor’s License test last year.

More often they’re “tests”: talking to event organizers considering me for a keynote, a potential ghostwriting clients, or making important decisions, etc. (And even to self-testing, since research shows testing yourself when you’re trying to learn is a great way to improve retention and recall.)

So yeah: like you, I take plenty of “tests.”

But I rarely think about when I should take them, which, according to a study just published in Frontiers in Psychology, is a mistake.

The researchers analyzed the results of over 100,000 oral exams conducted at an Italian university and found a clear bell curve in pass rates that pe