Are you an Early Riser or a Late Sleeper?
Morning Lark or a Night Owl?
In my country, Larks and Owls are called A or B people. This has created a canyon between early risers and late sleepers. Being on the A-team is the only accepted group to be in. B people are seen as lazy and second-class human beings. At least according to most Early Risers!
200 years ago, when industrialization started, a few ‘smart’ people wanted to design society. They sent out a message to everybody, calling to a meeting early Monday morning at 7. And of course, only Early risers were present. So they designed a world where we ALL need to rise early, no matter whether we are Early Birds, Late Owls, Introverted or extroverted! The A-Team wanted all of us to be like them.
I am very serious when I claim that most Early Risers haven’t got a clue what it means to be a Late Sleeper.
And they don’t have a clue how much stress they apply to society, mostly to Late Owls but indeed also to themselves!
A few years ago I had a neighbour. At one point he got a new job that demanded he woke up at 5.30 every morning. It took only a few months before he broke down with stress.
Early risers have no idea what society pays for them imposing their work terms on Late Owls. In Western countries, 1/3 of the workforce has experienced stress. Not all stress is related to this but approximately half the workforce is Night Owls, so it is definitely a contributing factor.
Your inner clock
We all have an inner clock. And this clock runs in different timezones. My inner clock runs in a different time zone than yours. The Early Bird jumps fast out of bed at 5 AM, while I wake up very slowly at 8, and then I use at least 30 minutes just snoozing!
If I am forced to wake up at 5 I am behind myself the rest of the day. My body will use a disproportionate amount of energy trying to catch up with the clock of society. The first two – three hours, I am not worth anything.
I react instinctively to things. Almost unconsciously. And non-engaging. I don’t approach anyone, and I don’t talk to anyone. I only want to be left alone!
Around noon, I am awake but at that time my body has spent all my energy trying to be present, that I am exhausted and am of no use the rest of the day.
And when I come home, the rest of the day is spent skipping actions. Doing nothing. Surfing the net. And eventually after dinner I have 1 or 2 creative hours – before I have to force myself to go to bed.
Just to experience I can’t fall asleep, and then I get sleep enough.
I hate it!
Facts.
- Research shows that if Late owls were to live freely many of them would end up in a Circadian rhythm at 45 hours! They would be awake for 30 hours and sleep for 15. Scientists call this a freely running inner watch.
- 90% of all teenagers are Late Owls and only a few change when they get older!
- Early Risers and Late Owls are assumed on average to have the same energy but not at the same time. Early Risers have most energy in the morning hours. Late Owls have most energy late afternoon or night.
- Early Risers get higher salaries.
- Late Owls are often musicians and artists.
Early Riser characteristics:
- Waking up with no alarm. Immediately ready.
- Easily fall asleep.
- Enjoy working in the daytime.
- Decreassing energy during the the day. Most energy in the morning.
- The preferred meal is breakfast.
- Exercise before noon.
- In bed at 9 pm – 9.30.
- Impatience and fast pace.
- Usually Achievers.
Late Owl characteristics
- Heavy snooze-button user.
- Most energy in the late afternoon and the night. Sometimes even late at night. Energy increases during the day.
- Not necessarily a fixed circadian rhythm – sleeping longer in the weekends.
- Less sleep and rarely well rested.
- Like to take a nap during daytime.
- Preferred meal is dinner.
- Prefer exercise late afternoon or early night.
- In bed at midnight or later.
- Many Late Owls suffer from Social Jetlag.
- Biggest challenge is to handle impatient Early Risers.
- Usually highly Creative.
Quality of Life
Being an Early Bird makes you fit much more smoothly into society.
Early Risers work with other Early Risers, often high paced because that is what this group of people are minded for.
They are in sync with the energy flow in almost any company.
Late Owls don’t fit in as easily as Early Risers. Their energy flow is NOT in sync with schools or workplaces, and they have less reason to be happy about their work.
What’s even worse is that, research (See References below) shows that Early Risers get higher salaries!
Are you trying to fit in?
Being a Late Owl in an Early Bird society equals stress, too little sleep, bad immune system, and more illnesses.
Concentration is a nightmare, and we don’t perform well in a society that is designed by Early Birds for Early Birds.
Some even feel alienated because they don’t fit into the norms of society, and they lose self-worth.
I have tried most of my life to adjust my inner clock to society clock. And it doesn’t work! I am from another planet, and I do not fit in! But studies shows that Early Birds fighting to be successful actually may be on the wrong track. It seems Night Owls are far more productive than Early Birds:
11 Scientifically Proven Reasons Why Night Owls Get More Done
The difference between Early Risers and Late Sleepers is much like racism. Many Early Risers think Late Owls need to get their shit together and adapt, but it is exactly the same as asking a black person to change his skin colour.
What happens to me every morning:
Early Risers don’t need an alarm to wake them up. Usually, they do it all by themselves, but I can’t do that. So I need to use this terror device Early Risers invented to ‘help’ Late Owls fit into their agenda. The Alarm Clock!
When my alarm wakes me up at 5 AM, my body immediately goes into Flight Mode (fight/flight). My first thought is, “FUCK! Not again!” I wake up in shock! Every single morning. In a few weeks, these morning shocks accumulate to trauma and I begin to malfunction. In a few months, I will collapse in a terror reign of stress.
I don’t feel appreciated by society. I feel abused!
An alarm clock buzzing at 5 AM is psychological abuse. It feels like an assault by your employer. Seriously!
The ideal day for an Early Riser
You wake up at 4 to 5 AM and you are instantly ON! Many Early Risers do not need an alarm. It is only a matter of milliseconds until you are at full speed. You have a lot of energy and can’t wait to get out there and do something. You spend your energy during the first part of the day and at night you are less energetic and maybe even worn out so you have to go to bed early.
The ideal day for a Late Owl
Early Birds have no idea what it feels like to be a Late Riser in an Early Bird society. If you want a feel of how it is, imagine this:
You would start at work at 6 PM and go home at 02 AM. You would then go to sleep from 3 AM to 11 PM and your off time would be in the afternoon from 11 AM to 6 PM.
This would kill most Early Risers, but save the Late Owls! Right?
Ideally, you shouldn’t need an alarm clock to wake you up. It is healthier to wake up at your own natural body speed. No stress. No panic. No traumatic mornings.
Late sleepers wake up naturally at some point after 8 PM. Some even first at 12! The day starts slowly, and we have to pick up where to start at our own pace. A slow quiet cup of tea or coffee, reading the paper or doing some non-binding activities and meeting at work somewhere between 9 AM and 12 PM. Some even prefer working afternoons or nights!
And those of us who have this Late Riser clock inside don’t really fit into society as it is today.
That’s why I started this blog PassionBlogist.com
Famous well-known night owls:
Winston Churchill, Christina Aguilera, John Travolta, Bob Dylan, Tolkien, Carl Jung, Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, George Clooney, Barck Obama, Charles Darwin, Pablo Picasso, Keith Richards, and ME!
Keywords involved in this article:
Night Owl vs Early Bird pros and cons, Early Risers Meaning, Late Owl Meaning, Night Owl Psychology, Famous Night Owls, Advance of Early Rising, Facts about Waking up Early, Advantages and Disadvantages of Early Rising, Night Owl Characteristics, What is a Night Owl Person.
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