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Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

directorsblog.nih.gov

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Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#21

Post by inertiatic »

I've been a night owl all my life.

Now I wake up by 7 before my alarm even rings.

All it took was getting into the habit of trying to get a little person to sleep by 10 in the evening and falling asleep with them.

I'm still at my most productive at the end of the working day however and early morning is still not great.

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#22

Post by milofeynman »

sqs wrote: post #17

I used to be a night owl but switched to being an early riser in the last 3 months. I didn't intend to switch and am not sure why it happened, but here's what happened that probably contributed to it: - Started working out 1-2 hours per day (trail hiking/running) - Stopped reading my iPhone in bed at night, now I just read my backlit Kindle - Company switched to all-remote (used to commute to SF) - Had a daughter (~9…

The largest factor was having a kid. It happens to all of us. When you have a kid, suddenly sleeping in an extra hour isn't an option anymore and your body adjusts. It's also much easier to fall asleep early after getting up early to take care of the kid!

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#23

Post by anewhope »

sqs wrote: post #17

I used to be a night owl but switched to being an early riser in the last 3 months. I didn't intend to switch and am not sure why it happened, but here's what happened that probably contributed to it: - Started working out 1-2 hours per day (trail hiking/running) - Stopped reading my iPhone in bed at night, now I just read my backlit Kindle - Company switched to all-remote (used to commute to SF) - Had a daughter (~9…

That’s awesome. Reminder that for some people nothing will work. I’m diagnosed DSPD; I feel like the laundry list of life changes folks tout contributes to a lack of understanding and empathy for legitimate medical issues.

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#24

Post by Avamander »

sqs wrote: post #17

I used to be a night owl but switched to being an early riser in the last 3 months. I didn't intend to switch and am not sure why it happened, but here's what happened that probably contributed to it: - Started working out 1-2 hours per day (trail hiking/running) - Stopped reading my iPhone in bed at night, now I just read my backlit Kindle - Company switched to all-remote (used to commute to SF) - Had a daughter (~9…

I only have to have a kid to change my sleep, nice.

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#25

Post by mdturnerphys »

adamnemecek wrote: post #15

I have a hunch that this difference boils down to how happy one is with his main a ctivity (school, work etc.).

The linked paper gives evidence that genetic differences resulting in changes to the CK1 enzyme or the PERIOD protein play a role. Occupation and behavior may affect sleep but here there are demonstrated factors innate to someone's DNA.

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#26

Post by sqs »

milofeynman wrote: post #22
sqs wrote: post #17

I used to be a night owl but switched to being an early riser in the last 3 months. I didn't intend to switch and am not sure why it happened, but here's what happened that probably contributed to it: - Started working out 1-2 hours per day (trail hiking/running) - Stopped reading my iPhone in bed at night, now I just read my backlit Kindle - Company switched to all-remote (used to commute to SF) - Had a daughter (~9…

The largest factor was having a kid. It happens to all of us. When you have a kid, suddenly sleeping in an extra hour isn't an option anymore and your body adjusts. It's also much easier to fall asleep early after getting up early to take care of the kid!

Yeah. When she was under 6 months, being a night owl was a huge benefit because it was easy for me to do the overnight wake-ups and feedings. Now she is (crosses fingers, knocks on wood) usually sleeping pretty well through the night, so there aren't overnight feedings anymore.

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#28

Post by BuildTheRobots »

I like the fact they present it as an either/or choice.

My natural sleep cycle seems to default to a 28 hour day (eg I go to bed slightly later every evening then morning) which makes interfacing with reality pretty difficult. This seems to be something shared with a number of geeks I know.

Re: Early riser or night owl? New study may help to explain the difference

#30

Post by schuke »

inertiatic wrote: post #21

I've been a night owl all my life. Now I wake up by 7 before my alarm even rings. All it took was getting into the habit of trying to get a little person to sleep by 10 in the evening and falling asleep with them. I'm still at my most productive at the end of the working day however and early morning is still not great.

I wonder if the genetical night owl can pull this off too?
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