When night owls are exposed only to natural light, their internal body clocks shift earlier. Exposure to bright light in the morning is considered one of the best ways to become more of a morning person and shift your
Put simply, no. You can't change your chronotype yourself, but your chronotype can shift on its own with age. In fact, it's perfectly normal for that to happen. Most kids have an early chronotype, driving them to wake up and go to sleep early.
Yet getting up early to meet life's responsibilities is the bleary-eyed reality of most late-to-bed types — leading many exhausted night owls to wonder: “Can I reprogram my biological clock to be an early riser?” The answer for most night owls is “Yes, you can,” according to sleep experts.
Night owls make up approximately 15% of the population and are most productive late into the evenings. Many are creative and more open to taking risks. While not always true, they may be more likely to: Be sleep-deprived.
If you prefer to go to bed and get up later – a sleep chronotype known as being a night owl – you may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, a new study found. Night owls were more sedentary, had lower aerobic fitness levels and burned less fat at rest and while active than early birds in the study.
Dolphin. The rarest chronotype is a dolphin with only around 10% of the population falling into this category. Dolphins have trouble following any sleep schedule – that's because they are restless light sleepers who wake often during the night.
The dolphin chronotype is the rarest animal type, as dolphins comprise only 10 per cent of the population. Dolphin chronotypes aren't the best at hitting the hay, as they are primarily light sleepers and are easily disturbed by noise, movement and temperature changes, often waking up in the middle of the night.
But having night-owl tendencies may come with serious health effects. Recent studies have discovered that, regardless of their lifestyle, people who stay up late had both higher levels of body fat and an increased risk of developing other health problems, such as diabetes and low muscle mass, than did early birds.
In fact, some studies suggest that night owls tend to possess three personality traits known as the “dark triad.” These traits are psychopathy (psychologically manipulative tendencies), Machiavellianism (a willingness to harm others in pursuit of a personal goal), and narcissism (a self-obsessed personality).
"Then there's the more readily apparent downside to being a night owl: The fact that it can conflict with your family life or professional responsibilities," says Dr. Ayish. "Night owls have been shown to have poorer attention, slower reaction times and increased sleepiness throughout the day.
Some people are genetically programmed to go to bed (and rise) early, others late. Morning birds have certain advantages over night owls, new research suggests, including a lower risk of certain mental disorders.
Research has been gaining insight on that question. It turns out our internal clocks are influenced by genes and are incredibly difficult to change. If you're just not a morning person, it's likely you'll never be, at least until the effects of aging kick in.
Should You Become a Morning Person? Being a lark isn't better than being a night owl, but if you find that the hours you're keeping are getting in the way of work, school, healthy habits, social functions or other commitments, it might be helpful to shift your daily activity to operate more in the morning.
Types of sleepers: lion, wolf, bear and dolphin. The American sleep scientist, Michael Breus, revised the owls and larks model and identified a total of four types of sleepers. Whoever knows what type of sleeper they are can optimise their daily routine accordingly, thus improving their performance.
Adolescents with ADHD show an evening chronotype. Increasing age is associated with a tendency toward eveningness. The evening chronotype is related to behavioral problems.
Usually, people who are night owls stay awake past midnight, and extreme night owls may stay awake until just before or even after dawn. Some night owls have a preference or habit for staying up late, or stay up to work the night shift.
We are all born with our own circadian rhythm, so one person might identify as more of a "morning person" and another as an "evening person." These circadian preferences, which fall along a continuum, are called "chronotypes."
Men are typically later chronotypes than women before 40, but earlier types after 40. The greatest differences are observed between 15 and 25 for both sexes, equaling more than 50% of the total chronotype difference across all age groups.
The most common chronotype, driving 55% of people, is the bear. Bears like to adhere to a solar schedule, meaning they get up when the sun rises and go to bed when it sets.
Many adults with ADHD are self-described (and quite happy) “night owls.” As stimuli and distractions dim, creativity and productivity shine while the rest of the world sleeps.
Psychology Today reported that intelligent people are likely to be nocturnal beings, with those with a higher IQ going bed later on both weeknights and weekends.
Studies show that night owls and those who wake up later actually are smarter and more creative than their early rising counterparts. They also have higher IQs according to The Independent. Unfortunately, night owls have slightly lower academic scores than early risers (by about 8%).