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Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#31

Post by ThoAppelsin »

Flimm wrote: post #15

Yes, I have. In a desire to change some bad habits, I stopped using alarms to wake up, and I configured my router to stop providing me Internet access from 11pm every day. I also put a sign on my bedroom door, saying "this is a phone-free zone". The sunshine wakes me up. I kept this up at least for a couple of years. I genuinely feel like a morning person now, instead of a night owl that I used to be.

I can second to waking up with the sun part and even more. I have been waking up like that for over 4 years now, started after I have realized my brain is capable of even waking up 3 minutes before my alarm rings, almost consistently. Without an alarm to rely on, it ticks even better, and even without the sun I can wake up the time I want.

I think everybody can do this, with just a little courage, and perhaps less caffeine. It doesn't hurt if you set an alarm to a time that is absolute latest you should be getting out of bed, requiring you to take a cab in a rush without shower or anything alike, and then even being 5 minutes late to your appointment. That assumes you commute via some slower/cheaper means. This is what I do when there is something really important and I never had to take a cab.

It is all about trust in yourself, and getting rid of kind assurances (grace alarms) and self-restrictions helps.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#32

Post by bgdurrett »

I think my first question would be "why do you want to switch to being a morning person?" I suspect there is a deeper underlying objective, and becoming a morning person may or may not be the best path to success.

That said, I made the switch from night owl to morning person. Like many lifestyle changes, I think the biggest part is establishing the habit, after which it becomes your standard existence. Create a regular pattern.

Take a moment to understand what behaviors keep you up at night and change the time you engage in those habits. I used to drink coffee even in the evenings, now I don't have caffeine after noon. Eliminating screens, both because of the engagement and the light, can help. I haven't used it, but many people I know swear by melatonin for correcting sleep schedules when traveling, and it may help you through an adjustment period.

Regular exercise, in addition to being a generally good thing for you, can also help ensure your body wants rest at the end of the day. There were some great tips in the replies, camping / backpacking does tend to force the issue of being a morning person. I also don't use an alarm clock for a few reasons, but I think alarm clocks enable staying-up too late... you're less inclined to worry about when you get to sleep if you know something will wake you up.

Finally, I sometimes have a problem getting to sleep when too many thoughts are racing through my head. I find listening to podcasts is a huge help, but it has to be a topic that is interesting enough for me to ignore everything I was thinking, but not so interesting that I am engaged enough to stay awake.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#33

Post by diminish »

asgraham wrote: post #22

I began making the change in January and was fully morning-person by mid-February. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and would highly, highly recommend it. The key for me was having both a reason to wake up, and a reason to go to sleep. To have a shot of waking up on time in the morning, you unsurprisingly need to go to sleep about 8 hours before you want to wake up. Part of the kick for me was the realization that the lat…

I also switched to be a morning person since february after 10 years. I used to work till 2am, and sometimes till 5am and felt very high and productive in the past.

Now I sleep at 23:00 and wake up at 7. Usually nap around 13 for 30mins. I feel very happy, productive and social.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#34

Post by seanalltogether »

I made the change by forcing myself to wake up and go to the gym every weekday at 8 am, and then drink/eat a breakfast afterward. My entire body shifted after a month to the point where I easily went to bed at midnight, and woke up just before my alarm in the morning. I had a good amount of energy during the work day and generally just felt good

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#35

Post by tobiasSoftware »

While I have not, I have made an interesting realization. I used to like being a night person and hate being a morning person. My like of being a night person comes from rare nights where I feel alive working on projects and it's amazing, but rare. However, I've realized my hate of being a morning person is incorrect. It all stems from a single thing - the alarm. When I wake up from an alarm, I feel a bit blah all day. I feel way better in the weekends when I sleep in.

So my advice would be not to try to make the transition by setting your alarm super early, because then you'll feel miserable and give up. Instead, focus on going to bed as early as possible. Leave the computer at a certain point (or at least use Flux), and pick up a book and read or something else relaxing.

If you can't avoid using an alarm, you could also try changing it. One thing that's helped me in general is a light alarm - 30 minutes before the alarm, it gradually starts turning a light on. Sometimes I wake up naturally to turn it off, and I feel better than waking to a blaring noise. The light alarm also doesn't use a standard alarm noise, it uses a noise like a flock of birds to wake me up. Another thing I've tried that's helped is a CD alarm, so that the blaring noise you wake up to is at least a pleasant song of your choice instead of annoying beeping.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#37

Post by lotsofpulp »

bluedino wrote: post #12
whb07 wrote: post #2

Have you ever spent a full day in the outdoors? The moment you lay your stuff for sleep before sunset you’re out like a baby till sunrise. That’s because you’ve been walking and being active all day. There’s also less distractions. Having said that, I do believe that if you were to wake up at 6 am, go to the gym and work daily, you would be ready to sleep like a baby at 9-10 pm. Most of the time when I become a night…

Do heavy deadlifts or squats and you will sleep like a baby that night.

That's how I shifted my schedule, and maybe my age has kicked in too. But I do 25 min of cardio at 5:45am and then weights for 40 min, and I do another 30 of cardio after work and I'm ready to sleep around 9:30pm to 10pm and wake up again at 5:30am.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone switched from being a night owl to being a morning person?

#40

Post by Clubber »

MikkoFinell wrote: post #29
Clubber wrote: post #5

I have not. I've been working for 20 years and I still need the weekends to catch up on sleep. I'll try to get to bed on time (10p) but sometimes (at least once a week) I just can't sleep, or dread work, or whatever. I'll be tired all day, then when it comes time to go to sleep again, I'll be wide awake.

On the problematic nights, try melatonin pills. It's over-the-counter, seems side-effect free as far as I can tell, and will put you out within an hour.

I've tried those and Tylenol PMs too. I took PMs for years (and still do) just to get to sleep for work.
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