How I became a morning person • Hacker News Board

Re: How I became a morning person

#61

Post by kelnos » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:04 AM UTC

jhaand wrote: post #11

Waking up early means going to bed early. That remains the hardest to do.

That's my thing too -- I very much enjoy going out evenings & nights, often fairly late, most weekdays. Getting up reliably before 9am when I'm out until 12-2am (perhaps followed by working for a couple hours, or just winding down), is difficult enough to be not worth trying for me. I'm single right now, but when I'm with someone who goes to bed much earlier, I suppose I do sometimes shift my schedule earlier as well. (I guess that's similar to one of the OP's justifications of doing this to have more time with his wife.)

Re: How I became a morning person

#62

Post by kelnos » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:07 AM UTC

I always roll my eyes a little bit when people say they get extra "free hours" by waking up earlier. In this case it works for the OP, because he has another motive, which is syncing his schedule with his wife so he can spend more time with her. But the extra hours don't come from nowhere... you need to compensate by losing a comparable amount of time at night.

My waking hours are usually 10-11am until 2-5am. It's not a perfect schedule, by any means, and sometimes I consider trying to hack myself into getting up earlier, but it's usually not worth the effort. I'm lucky that I can work flexible hours, and I get some of my most productive work out in the evening and late at night. Not saying that I don't have the potential to be just as productive in the early morning (but I suspect I wouldn't; even on days when I do go to bed early and wake up early, I feel foggy for longer after I wake up), but being a night owl is just how I am.

I just always am baffled that "becoming a morning person" seems to be considered such a laudable goal. It's not. It's just your sleep schedule. If you're changing yours to sync up with a partner, or to be more available at work, or something like that, good on you, but I don't see how it's somehow special. I was curious enough about the OP's method to read the article, but when I see something like "How I became a morning person", I think "Aww, poor guy; glad I don't have to do that".

Re: How I became a morning person

#63

Post by TeMPOraL » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:07 AM UTC

rev_bird wrote: post #50

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exact opposite here - more or less severe brain fog until the sun sets. Then I can start getting things done.

I've had "brain fog" in small spells over the years, particularly when my depression went unmanaged. I can't imagine having it every day, I'd get nothing done and hate myself. It sounds like you have more self-awareness than I did though.

> I can't imagine having it every day, I'd get nothing done and hate myself.

Yup. You'd do exactly that. You learn to live with it (while putting down fire after fire that lack of productivity causes). Source: personal experience.

Re: How I became a morning person

#64

Post by kelnos » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:10 AM UTC

rloc wrote: post #18

I tried that but can't fight my need to make the day last longer. I'm also quite productive late night. It makes me eat more in the evening and skip breakfast the next day (at the opposite of most nutritionists recommendations). The main issue with being a late night worker is that for most of us it means starring at a screen and this affects sleep in a bad way.

I've noticed that as well. Even on (rare) days when I wake up earlier than usual, I don't find myself getting tired enough to sleep earlier than usual. I just want to make the day last longer. And even if I am a bit tired, I've found my ability to find a second wind to be reliably excellent.

Re: How I became a morning person

#65

Post by santaclaus » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:16 AM UTC

kelnos wrote: post #62

I always roll my eyes a little bit when people say they get extra "free hours" by waking up earlier. In this case it works for the OP, because he has another motive, which is syncing his schedule with his wife so he can spend more time with her. But the extra hours don't come from nowhere... you need to compensate by losing a comparable amount of time at night. My waking hours are usually 10-11am until 2-5am. It's no…

I'm in a similar boat, and I've never understood the patronizing attitude lobbed at night owls by morning people.

Re: How I became a morning person

#66

Post by emptybits » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:16 AM UTC

The author comments, "We enjoy dark chocolate after dinner most nights, but I learned the hard way about its surprising caffeine content."

It's worth noting that some people find (fortunately?) that caffeine does not disrupt their sleep.

Caffeine's relationship to one's chronotype (and genotype and sleep quality) will hopefully receive more study, since it's becoming clear that not everyone needs to heed the "don't consume caffeine before bed" common wisdom.

Here's a short article in Scientific American on one such study.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/caffeine-disrupts-...

The paper referred to is behind this paywall. Didn't pay; can't read. It claims preliminary evidence.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945712...

Re: How I became a morning person

#67

Post by 147 » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:23 AM UTC

I've become a morning person very recently (past two weeks). The hardest part for me was waking up earlier. I started researching sleep trackers and decided they were too expensive. I thought the sleep tracker apps for your phone where it uses your microphone or accelerometer didn't work.

But, with the app Sleep Cycle being free, I gave it a shot. And it works. Surprisingly well.

Placebo? Maybe, but I don't care. The point is the past week I've been waking up from 4:30 to 5:00 AM easily. Before with my usual double alarm setup of apple watch on table across from room and phone on night stand, I'd wake up at 5:30 AM, turn off the phone alarm and walk to my apple watch and turn it off. Then promptly went back to bed because I was groggy. This doesn't happen to me with the Sleep Cycle app.

Some people in this thread are saying you don't actually get extra hours because you end up sleeping earlier. While that's true, I've found that I am much more productive before my work day and can get my side tasks/work out of the way. Normally, after work, I can't get anything done due to being tired and constant distractions. Now, I get things done before work and still manage to accomplish nothing after work. A net gain of a few hours.

Just a final thought, I used to love being a night owl because there weren't any distractions for me. I'd have to wait til everybody in the house fell asleep to focus on work, and by then I'd be tired. I'd push on a little bit, sleep, and wake up for work the next day tired. I'm finding that I get mostly the same benefits if not more by waking up early.

Long story short, try the Sleep Cycle app. Maybe it'll work for you too.

Re: How I became a morning person

#68

Post by elwell » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:28 AM UTC

emptybits wrote: post #66

The author comments, "We enjoy dark chocolate after dinner most nights, but I learned the hard way about its surprising caffeine content." It's worth noting that some people find (fortunately?) that caffeine does not disrupt their sleep. Caffeine's relationship to one's chronotype (and genotype and sleep quality) will hopefully receive more study, since it's becoming clear that not everyone needs to heed the "don't c…

Interesting. My personal experience is that I can usually 'choose' if coffee will make me be more awake or make me sleepy. I just wonder if it affects sleep/REM quality regardless.

Re: How I became a morning person

#69

Post by jrcii » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:36 AM UTC

kelnos wrote: post #62

I always roll my eyes a little bit when people say they get extra "free hours" by waking up earlier. In this case it works for the OP, because he has another motive, which is syncing his schedule with his wife so he can spend more time with her. But the extra hours don't come from nowhere... you need to compensate by losing a comparable amount of time at night. My waking hours are usually 10-11am until 2-5am. It's no…

I do understand your point but I still feel you're missing something. It's not pure coincidence or random that there is not a lot of advice out there about how to stay up late and sleep in. Nor is it completely irrational that there is a lot about waking early. There's something to being in sync with nature and the sun, maybe, or the psychology of the /idea/ of getting an early start, even if it is just an idea. I would stop short of prescribing the precise reasons why this is a goal, but there are reasons.

Re: How I became a morning person

#70

Post by wslh » Sun, Dec 13, 2015, 1:37 AM UTC

How I became a morning person? I had kids! They completely resynced my whole day. I don't know if this works for everybody but It worked for me and I can't belive now how I could take lunch at 5pm before.