Some clues about high potential intelligence are loud and obvious. Others are far quieter, hidden in the first minutes of the morning or in habits that look perfectly ordinary from the outside.
What if brilliance did not always announce itself with grades or accolades, but with how someone wakes up, thinks and reaches for a book before breakfast?
A mind that never quite switches off
High potential individuals, often defined as having an IQ of 130 or above, tend to experience the world with an intensity that does not disappear at night. Researchers have long observed that their brains remain highly active during sleep, which subtly shapes how they wake up.
A landmark study conducted at the neurological hospital of the CHU de Lyon, with the involvement of Dr Bruno Revol, examined sleep patterns in children aged eight to eleven. Compared with other children, those identified as high potential went through more sleep cycles, and those cycles were shorter. Their REM sleep – the phase linked to intense brain activity and dreaming – also appeared earlier in the night.
In practical terms, this means their brains are busy sorting, organising and connecting information long before the alarm goes off.
Why mornings feel different for high-potential thinkers
Psychologist Arielle Adda, a long time specialist in high potential development, explains it simply. High potential individuals process information faster than average. REM sleep plays a key role in managing that mental flow, which helps explain why their nights look different on a neurological level.
She also notes that dreams tend to be especially vivid and dense. This is not about imagination alone, but sustained cognitive activity. Anyone who has woken up feeling as though their mind has already run a marathon before breakfast will recognise the sensation.
The flip side appears at dawn. Many parents report that their children wake very early, sometimes around five in the morning. They fidget, think, plan, or simply get up. This does not mean every early riser is gifted, but it is a pattern frequently seen among high potential profiles.
The book by the bedside tells a story
One behaviour stands out in particular. When high potential individuals wake early, they often reach for a book. Not out of discipline or routine, but instinct. Reading becomes a natural way to occupy a mind that is already alert.
I once stayed with a friend whose daughter would quietly read novels before the rest of the house stirred. By seven o’clock, she had already travelled through another world. It looked peaceful, almost enviable, until her parents realised she was running on far too little sleep.
Adda points out that some families eventually remove books from bedrooms for this reason. However strong the attraction to reading, children still need rest. High potential does not cancel biology.
Intelligence is not just performance
What matters here is nuance. These signs are tendencies, not tests. Waking early, dreaming vividly or loving books do not define intelligence on their own. But together, they sketch a familiar picture recognised by psychologists and educators.
Organisations such as the American Psychological Association consistently stress that intelligence expresses itself through patterns of behaviour, attention and processing speed, not just scores.
High potential individuals are often misunderstood because their strengths appear in quiet moments. In the stillness of early morning. In the pages of a book before sunrise. In a brain that never truly powers down.
Recognising these subtle signals can help parents, teachers and adults themselves better understand how to support a mind that is always a step ahead, even when the world is still asleep.
