![]() So, if you’re at your peak before noon, you’re exhausted at the end of the day. If you’re a morning person, it’s typical for you to burn through your energy throughout the day. What does that mean? Night owls were found to be more mentally alert for longer periods of time after waking. “Both the early birds and the night owls were sleeping and waking whenever they pleased, rather than being kept on an artificial schedule.” “An hour and a half after waking up, and again 10.5 hours after waking up, the volunteers had their brain activity measured by fMRI while they took a simple reaction-time test of their ability to maintain focused attention,” states Begley. “The two groups were separated by about four hours in their sleep patterns.” So, “if early birds were happy waking up at 7, night owls slept until 11, and early birds were ready to go to sleep at 11 while night owls had no trouble staying up until 3 in the morning.” Led by Christina Schmidt and Philippe Peigneux, scientists “had 15 extreme night owls and 16 extreme early birds spend two nights in a sleep lab,” explains Sharon Begley in Newsweek. However, researchers from the University of Liege in Belgium beg to differ. After all, while you’re still in bed, they’ve got a lengthy head start. There’s a misconception that night owls don’t get as much done as their morning bird counterparts. The reason? You’re sticking to your natural sleep and wake cycles. When you follow your circadian rhythms, you don’t need to rely on an alarm clock. That means as soon as you’re awake, you’re on social media or responding to emails. Moreover, if you use your smartphone as an alarm, you’re probably going to get sucked in. And that’s certainly not good for your health. As a result, “the body will trigger a stress response to wake you, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure,” explains Professor Foster. In addition to being groggy, you’re essentially shocking your system. ![]() “Using an alarm clock means you are potentially going to wake up during a stage of sleep in which you are not designed to wake,” says Dr. “In a perfect world, no one would use an alarm clock - we’d all wake up naturally having had as much sleep as we need,” adds independent sleep expert Dr. “ If you’re dependent on an alarm to get you out of bed, then you’re not getting enough sleep, and you’re at risk of all the negative consequences of that,” says Professor Russell Foster, director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford. You don’t have to rely on an alarm clock. When you do, you might discover your productivity will get a boost. So, instead of fighting against yourself, own up to being a night owl. “The hormone melatonin, whose rise makes the body feel less alert, decreases later in the morning for night owls.” Larks also “have a higher core body temperature in the afternoon, which can be a sign of increased energy at that time,” he added. “Biological differences between early birds and night owls exist,” Robert Matchock, associate professor of psychology at Penn State Altoona, told Fast Company. As such, there’s a belief that if you want to get ahead, you must follow in their footsteps. No wonder successful individuals like Ben Franklin, Tim Cook, Michelle Obama, Richard Branson, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson all rise before the sun. And, because the world is still sleeping, you’re more productive. What’s more, it’s a pretty good time to exercise or find your muse. ![]() It’s been said that morning birds are more proactive, consistent, and aren’t rushing out the door. ![]() But - if we allow for differences in human beings - this may not always be true. I used to think that if someone slept in - they were the worst slacker in the world. I’m sure that you’ve heard that adage a million times. ![]()
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