According to Oxford University biologist Kathrine Wulff,
“If people are left to their naturally preferred times, they feel much better. They say that they are much more productive. The mental capacity they have is much broader,” says Oxford University biologist Katharina Wulff, who studies chronobiology and sleep. On the other hand, she says, pushing people too far out of their natural preference can be harmful. When they wake early, for example, night owls are still producing melatonin. “Then you disrupt it and push the body to be in the daytime mode. That can have lots of negative physiological consequences,” Wulff says, like a different sensitivity to insulin and glucose – which can cause weight gain.
Amanda Ruggeri at BBC.com
Not only are some individuals morning people and some are night owls, but there’s a clear difference in the way their brains work.
Research shows that morning versus evening types show a classic left-brain versus right-brain division: more analytical and cooperative versus more imaginative and individualistic.
You can be a successful night owl. As a matter of fact, according to this article, you’re better off respecting your natural state rather than trying to force yourself into a state that is not natural for you.
Researchers also points out that because evening types often have to function when their bodies don’t want to, it makes sense that they may have worse moods or lower life satisfaction.
With life satisfaction of youth at a significant low due to the negative impacts of covid, I think right now is the best time to respect individuals natural states. Night owls are not less ambitious, not lazy, and not broken. They deserve the same respect as early risers.
So don’t be offended when someone can’t function when you can. It has nothing to do with you and it has more to do with their biology than it does what they want to do. It took me a long time to accept that I was not a morning person. I was always jealous of people at my job who showed up bright eyed and bushy tailed with packed lunches. When I finally came to terms with the fact that I’m not cut out for those hours and that environment, I stepped into who I truly was and who I truly wanted to be.
I dreamed for a long time of being someone different than who I am today. But who I am today is unapologetically me and it’s the most liberated I’ve felt in my life.
Jayne.press 