Night Owl versus Morning Lark

[dani_b]

I was just wondering what opinions are out there about different sleep schedules. I couldn't find much info online. I have a hard time waking up early and wanting to go to bed early. I have to really make an effort to be on a day schedule. If I am not really careful, before I know it I'm on a night schedule again. I've always been this way. I was always the last one up at sleepovers, often staying up until the morning hours. However, I have heard that in order to be successful you have to be an early riser. I don't have much energy all day, regardless of sun exposure. At night, I have more energy and better concentration. If it were a good thing to be on a night schedule, I'd have the easiest time doing it! Is it really bad to choose a night schedule if it feels better? I was thinking about how there are owls and certain plants that bloom at night. Maybe it's okay for some people as long as they get enough sleep? I don't want to stay up late if it isn't good for my health.

[beppa66]

Hmmm. I've always been a night owl. Certain professions will allow for this better than others. (I'm in advertising). I would not do well in a job I had to be at before 8-9am and tend to do my best thinking at night. So it works for me.

I guess it just depends...

[Lady Green Jeans]

I am the early bird. Cannot stay up late without suffering from lack of enough sleep. I so enjoy seeing the start of a fresh day as the dark goes to light--really the best part of the day for me. Thankfully we are all different!

[StarFire]

I usually go to sleep early cuz I'm up so early to exercise and go to work... but if dh isn't home... I a night owl... (lonley bed syndrome I think ;) !) Hey dani - where did your blog go? I was trying to post a comment today and it wouldn't post... then I noticed your blog is gone ... or something .... :confused:

[cinnamon panda]

i've been researching this or trying to find an answer for as long as i can remember. i am a night owl too. i start getting energy around 4pm to run errands, work out etc. i can easily stay up until 2 or 3 am. i am creative and when i get a spurt i will go sometimes until 5, 6 am!

sometimes i try to fight it, b/c "they" say early risers are better in life. etc.

but, i think it's genetic. my mom would start laundry and vacuuming at midnight. i remember hearing the sewing machine at 2 am. when i would wake up in the mornings the house would be spotless and there would be all sorts of things made in the kitchen...

i think we are all different...and so far being raw hasn't changed the night owl in me...i have MORE energy so at night i am bouncing off the walls!

but, i would like to know the answer too. if there even is one. which is better? or is it just the amount of sleep hours we need to be healthy? great topic!

[juliebove]

I'm a night owl. Always have been. If you are too, then why fight it? You don't necessarily have to be up early to be successful. Then again, my aim was never to be successful or famous or anything like that.

I've worked a variety of schedules over the years and while I can do it, I'm not particularly happy doing some of the super early hours. Like being at work at 5:00 a.m.

I suppose it's up to you to decide what you want. But me? I'd rather be happy.

[dreamrawalwz]

I have bounced back and forth throughout my life. After a trip to Australia my "clock" was changed since we had to wake up at 6 every morning. Every since then 2 years ago, I"m an early riser. I used to stay up until 2 AM and wake up at noon if I could. These days I wake up early and do homework that is due that day :rolleyes:

[EZ rider]

I like the wee early morning hours of the day. Its so quiet and peaceful. As long as a person is getting adequate rest I don't think it makes much difference when a body is asleep and when its awake. Look at babies and little kids they sleep when their tired regardless of the clock and they are healthy.

[dani_b]

yeah, I like night time for the same reason...it's quiet and peaceful. I live in the city and it's soo noisy and crazy during the day. It's so different to take a walk at night and not worry about all the cars etc. Morning starts early in the city though. If I took a walk at 5 am it would already be getting noisy and busy.

[luckitri]

I was born a night owl also. In recent years however, I also get up quite early and cannot get back to sleep until after I am supposed to be at work. So now my body gets it's best sleep for an hour or two in the middle of the day (sometimes more). For some reason I can get a better quality sleep during the day (if there is not loud noise in the neighborhood) than I can at night. Problem is that I am not converted fully to day or night. My body just wants to sleep a bit here and there.

I just read how a cousin of mine got written up in a local (to him) paper for making a nap room in his company and he allows his employees to nap as well as himself. He thinks it makes for better work. So maybe this sleep thing is hereditary.

I am also very weather sensitive. If a storm is coming up I get either very energized or very sleepy. Then I get further off schedule as a result. The desert sun makes me sluggish even in the AC. A siesta is the natural thing to do - to just wait out the heat - not fight it. Once again I become off schedule.

Creativity can keep me going for a long time if I am very interested and get in that zone about it.

[JennaBoBenna]

I have bounced back and forth throughout my life. After a trip to Australia my "clock" was changed since we had to wake up at 6 every morning. Every since then 2 years ago, I"m an early riser. I used to stay up until 2 AM and wake up at noon if I could. These days I wake up early and do homework that is due that day :rolleyes:

Haha! I do the exact same thing!
Oh, the teenage years...staying up all night..sleeping in all day..not doing homework
and now there's college, where you stay up all night, wake up early, and do homework :rolleyes:

[trinity082482]

I am both. Some times I go to bed around 10.. but usually I am in bed by 1 am and I get up at 6:00 am and then at 7:00... hitting snooze button along the way :D And then I get my munchkin ready for junior Kindergarden and off we go!

[aililiu]

i have heard that every morning you sleep before midnight counts as two hours, that theyre much more restful.
i know i feel a huge difference if i go to bed early/wake up early then if i go to bed late...... even if im getting the same amount of sleep.
im trying to condition myself to be an even earlier riser.
i love the early morning... so peaceful.

[PomegranatePip]

I was going to bed late (2 am) and getting up late (11 am). A naturopath told me that that could be a sign of adrenal problems. I was having a lot of trouble even getting to sleep earlier (if I went to bed at 11 pm, for example, I'd end up lying awake for hours anyway).

So I'm not sure if being a "night owl" is exactly healthy...

[dani_b]

pomegranatepip, thats the same with me. Even when I go to bed early I can't seem to fall asleep until at least 4:30 am! I do know that my adrenals are weak though, so maybe your doctor was right.

[crystalmoon]

Hi I also have tend to easily slip into a night owl life but I know I have adrenal fatigue & I have been told by therapists, herbalists, reflexologist etc that the adrenal glands need us to be asleep by 10pm cos they do all their healing between 10pm & 1am. getting to sleep by 10pm is a goal I am working towards but Im soooooo not there yet

[Rawzula]

I've always been a night owl. I once stayed up until 7am in the morning:eek:.

The "earliest" I've gone to bed is 1am.

[EZ rider]

getting to sleep by 10pm is a goal I am working towards but Im soooooo not there yetAs far as a sleep schedule is concerned after thinking about the various ways to manage the sleep part of the equation for good health I have decided that for me getting to bed at or about 10:00 pm every night and then getting a natural wake up (throw away the alarm clock) about 6:00 am provides 8 hours of sleep and this has become my goal also. Good luck in achieving your goal.

[crystalmoon]

Hi EZ rider that's exactly the schedule I want to establish:)
Im using a zen alarm clock at the moment which wakes me by hitting a tibetan bowl, this is so much better than the electric insane noise of standard alarms that used to make me start the day MAD but I really would like to be able to wake naturally on time for 'life'
Good luck with your goal too ;)

[dani_b]

cyrstalmoon and ez rider, that sounds like a great goal! I only use an alarm if absolutely necessary. I used to go to bed after 12 and get up before 5 when I was in highschool. I had to use a noisy alarm clock and woke up angry and exhausted.
Last year, I went to bed at 10pm most nights and naturally woke up between 5 and 6 am. I felt sooo much more refreshed when I woke up. Now even when I'm in bed 12 hours and wake naturally, I still feel unrested.

Even though I'm naturally a night owl, I want to let my adrenals repair and I want a schedule that I can be consistent with. I don't think it's too bad to be on a night schedule if it's consistent, but then when you need to wake up early sometimes it really throws things off. For me, the hard part is actually falling asleep early. Even since I quit caffeine and even if I get up earlier than I feel ready to, I still can't fall asleep early. There's always things to work on.

[crystalmoon]

Hi dani b yeah its the falling asleep early bit that I just cant seem to do right now...even when I do get to bed by 10pm I end up reading & before I know it 2 hours have flown by ;)
I think I may have to just take myself to bed at 10pm after a warm bath & lie there with the light out & stick it out til I sleep...