Do you stay up late and sleep in? Feel more creative or focused in the afternoon or evening? If so, you’re likely a “night owl,” the opposite of a “morning lark” (people who wake up early).
Now you can be less of a night owl, but not completely, because?
GENETICS!
The genetic tendency is still there. It’s like having a gene for cancer or diabetes. You can avoid it with your lifestyle, but it doesn’t change the fact that you might still get cancer or diabetes. Your success also depends on how much effort you’re willing to put into changing behaviors that affect your sleep.
Doctors used to think there were no health differences between night owls and morning larks if you got 7-9 hours of sleep. But now, that thinking is changing. So, you should start thinking about adjusting your sleep pattern.
Behavior change is very difficult. I can tell you what works, but you have to decide if you want to do it. I don’t have any magic pill to give you.
The Key Takeaway.
To successfully shift your sleep-wake cycle, exercise daily, but not right before bed, absolutely avoid alcohol and spicy food close to bedtime, dim the lights, turn off screens, and do a quiet activity like reading or reflecting and sleep in a cool, dark room with comfortable bedding.
You Are In A Risky Business.
Nature aligns our sleep-wake cycle with the Earth’s rotation. Daylight enters your eyes, travels to your brain, and stops melatonin production, a hormone that makes you sleepy. When the sun sets, your body clock starts making melatonin again, making you sleepy within a few hours. Your sleep schedule can change this process though. Early birds release melatonin earlier, making them active in the morning. Night owls release melatonin later, making them more active in the afternoon and evening.
That’s why you feel active at night and tired and laggy during the day.
Your body clock also controls when you feel hungry, tired, or ready to exercise. Being a night owl has it’s risks. Night owls are more likely to skip breakfast, eat more later, and use more tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine, have higher levels of belly fat, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease and so much more
Night Owls Sleep Less. The Risks?
Night owls often sleep less than morning larks, which increases health risks. Sleep is when the brain clears out toxins, consolidates memories, and our muscles and cells repair.
Not getting enough good-quality sleep is linked to poor concentration, higher risks of falls, broken bones, car crashes, a weakened immune system, and many diseases like dementia, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, and depression. That’s not what you’re looking for is it?
Night Owls, You Also Need The Darkness.
The human body naturally wants to sleep between midnight and dawn, when it’s dark outside.
We sleep best when the sun is down. That’s just how we’re wired. If you’re a night owl and go to bed in the middle of the night, you’re not getting the most out of the dark hours. The sun comes up soon after, which can lead to poor sleep or interrupted sleep.
You Might Want To Turn To Drugs — Don’t Do It.
I mean real drugs – not medication. You want to adjust your biological clock, not rely on drugs to sleep. Behavioral treatment of insomnia is more effective than drugs. Plus, if you get addicted, you have to get another behavioral treatment for it. So save yourself the headache. It is dangerous in every way.
So How Do You Change This Sleep Schedule?
It’s not a must go to bed and wake up earlier. But I’m convincing you enough to try, especially if you’re not sleeping enough or most of your sleep isn’t during the night. You can change your sleep cycle but it’s a slow process.
- Aim for a bedtime between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. to get at least five hours of sleep in darkness.
- You can’t just start going to sleep hours earlier and expect to make a lasting change to your sleep-wake cycle. Your brain won’t comply to that sudden change. Roll back your bedtime by 20 minutes every week until you reach your desired bedtime. For example, if you currently go to sleep at 1 a.m. and want to sleep at 11:30 p.m, sleep at 12:40 a.m. for a week, 12:20 a.m. for another week, Midnight for a week, 11:40 p.m. for another week and 11:20 or 11:30 p.m.
- Until you reach your bedtime goal, melatonin might help. Take an over-the-counter supplement two hours before bedtime. A more potent prescription version, ramelteon (Rozerem), taken at bedtime might be more effective. Talk to your doctor about it before doing so.
- Don’t get up late. You need a consistent wake time to train your brain. Don’t make it any later than 9 a.m.
- Be patient. Once you’ve reached your bedtime goal, it will take about 3 months to completely establish your new sleep schedule. As I said, it’s not easy, but it can be done. And when you sleep better, you’ll feel the difference.
- Avoid hitting snooze. Sleep inertia is the groggy feeling you get right after waking up. It’s natural, but you’ll feel it more when you’ve snoozed, making mornings harder. Asides that, snoozing sections your sleep, so you won’t get that unbroken sleep you need.
- Find a gentle alarm that doesn’t shock you awake. Jarring and loud alarms can trigger a surge in adrenaline, which will lead to starting your day in a stressed state. Those alarms can also negatively impact your heart health over time.
