Our world is geared towards morning people. The average workday begins between 8 and 9 am, and school days begin even earlier. If you've always struggled with getting up to get to school, work, or other important engagements, you may wonder if being a night owl is healthy. It depends. Here's what you need to know about natural sleep schedules so you can get healthy sleep.
Related Blog: Do Genetics Affect the Amount of Sleep We Need?
If You're Just Staying Up Too Late
Sometimes people think they're naturally night people when they're really not. The pressures of late-night tasks (such as taking care of children or trying to get too much done in the evening hours) or the temptations of nighttime entertainment (such as going out with friends) often push bedtime back beyond where it's healthy. If you feel really tired in the evening and then seem to wake up (also known as "missing your sleep window"), don't feel alert in the evening, or just never really feel rested, it's likely you're a morning person and your sleep schedule could use some adjusting.
If You're Really a Night Owl
There are genuine night owls, people who feel most energetic and tend to be most productive in the evening hours. If you naturally feel more alert in the early to late evening, have always wanted to stay up late and sleep in even as a child, and feel really tired or grumpy when you have to get up early (even if you've gone to bed early), it's likely your body is naturally set to that schedule. If you're really a night owl, being one isn't unhealthy; in fact, trying to change your natural rhythms is what's unhealthy. All you'll end up doing is putting stress on your system and prevent healthy sleep.
Working With Your Rhythms
Whether you're a morning person or a more active at night, you need to work with your body, not fight it. Healthy sleep depends on finding a schedule that works for you. Morning people need to try to get in their physical and mental "heavy lifting" during the morning hours, while night owls need to schedule things later at night. Consider asking your boss about flex time, coming in early or later, or telecommuting part of the time. you can't change who you are. The key to healthy sleep (a vital part of a healthy life) is to work with what you've been given.
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