Understanding Why Reach Dropped After Changing Posting Times

I recently shifted my posting schedule from evenings to early mornings because a blog suggested my audience of young professionals would be more active before work. The reason for the change was to increase reach and impressions. Instead, my average reach per post dropped by thirty-five percent over two weeks and my saves actually declined. I post educational design tips on Instagram four times per week. The content quality and hashtags stayed exactly the same. Could the algorithm be penalizing the sudden schedule change, or is my audience genuinely less active at 7 AM? I have access to Instagram Insights but I am not sure which metrics to prioritize when diagnosing this. Should I revert to my old times immediately or give the new schedule more time? Share your experience with posting time experiments and what the data actually showed.