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By Lydia Patrick
Life & Trends Reporter
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If you're looking to boost your chances of success in a job interview, the time of day that it is scheduled for might matter more than you think.
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology suggests that people perform better in evaluative situations—like oral exams or job interviews—around midday.
Researchers at the University of Messina, Italy, analyzed more than 100,000 oral exam results and found that students were significantly more likely to pass when assessed around lunchtime—and least likely to succeed early in the morning or later in the afternoon.
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"We show that academic assessment outcomes vary systematically across the day, with a clear peak in passing rates around midday," said paper author and neuroscientist professor Carmelo Mario Vicario. "Students were more likely to pass in late morning compared to early morning or late afternoon."
He added: "We believe this pattern could extend to job interviews or any evaluative process scheduled throughout the day."
"We would be very interested in investigating whether hiring decisions, too, fluctuate in fairness or outcome depending on time of day."
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What the Research Found
To investigate how time of day impacts performance, the team accessed data from 104,552 oral exams conducted between October 2018 and February 2020 across 1,243 courses.
In Italian universities, oral exams are a crucial part of academic evaluation. These high-pressure assessments typically last 10 to 30 minutes, are scheduled throughout the day, and involve spontaneous questions from professors.
By factoring in the difficulty of exams—measured by the number of credits awarded—the researchers were able to isolate timing as a key variable. Their analysis showed that:
- The average pass rate was 57%.
- Students were most likely to pass exams scheduled at 11:00 or 13:00.
- Exams taken at 08:00, 09:00, 15:00, or 16:00 saw significantly lower success rates.
- The pattern followed a bell curve, peaking at noon.
"These findings have wide-ranging implications," said Prof Alessio Avenanti of the University of Bologna, a co-author.
"They highlight how biological rhythms—often overlooked in decision-making contexts—can subtly but significantly shape the outcome of high-stakes evaluations."
Why Time Matters
Although the study didn't pinpoint the exact reason for this pattern, the midday peak aligns with existing evidence that cognitive performance tends to rise throughout the morning and dip after lunch. Several factors could be at play:
- Students may experience decreased focus as energy levels drop later in the day.
- Professors, who are often older and more likely to be "morning people," might experience decision fatigue or mismatched energy levels with their students.
- Younger adults, including most students, are typically night owls, making early mornings a cognitive low point.
"To counteract time-of-day effects, students might benefit from strategies like ensuring quality sleep, avoiding scheduling important exams during personal 'low' periods, and taking mental breaks before performance tasks," suggested Vicario.
"For institutions, delaying morning sessions or clustering key assessments in the late morning may improve outcomes."
What This Means for Job Seekers
Though the research focused on students, the implications could apply to job interviews as well. Just like exams, interviews involve stress, judgment and subjective evaluation.
If our mental sharpness and emotional resilience are affected by time of day, it might be wise to schedule interviews between 11:00 and 13:00 when both candidates and interviewers are likely to be at their cognitive best.
Still, the authors caution that more research is needed.
"While we controlled for exam difficulty, we can't entirely exclude other unmeasured factors," said Prof Massimo Mucciardi, senior author.
"We couldn't access detailed student- or examiner-level data such as sleep habits, stress, or chronotype. This is why we encourage follow-up studies using physiological or behavioral measures to uncover the underlying mechanisms."
Do you have a science story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about biological rhythms? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Vicario, C. M., Nitsche, M. A., Lucifora, C., Perconti, P., Salehinejad, M. A., Tomaiuolo, F., Massimino, S., Avenanti, A., & Mucciardi, M. (2025). Timing matters! Academic assessment changes throughout the day. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1605041
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