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. And what's more, if we try to live out of sync with these clocks, our health likely suffers.
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.
"Morning people are those who rise from sleep fairly easily and are most productive and/or active in the mornings," says Dr. Ayish "If you're a morning person, your brain is most alert in the morning, and you're generally very good at harnessing this energy and focus to get tasks, work and chores done."
It's estimated that some 50% of the population isn't really morning or evening-oriented, but somewhere in the middle. Roughly one in four of us, though, tend more toward bright-eyed early risers, and another one in four are night owls.
Sleep inertia, or wake-up grogginess, is the main reason you're unable to fully wake up in the morning or after a nap. It's a completely normal part of your sleep-wake cycle that's intensified by factors like high sleep debt and circadian misalignment (caused by sleeping in, social jetlag, and travel jet lag).
"The overall best is if you can wake up naturally because you're done sleeping," he said. On the other hand, if you're waking up early on just a few hours of sleep, you should probably try and squeeze in some more shuteye.
It may take you anywhere between 30 to 60 days to get accustomed to the habit of waking up early. Once you get used to your new sleep schedule, you won't even need an alarm to wake you up.
Despite these trends, the research mostly agrees that six hours of sleep is not enough for most adults. Experts recommend that most adults need at least seven hours of sleep every night.
Here, 39 early risers walk us through their morning routines—which begin as early as 3 A.M. and typically end somewhere between 7 and 10 A.M., when the workday begins. Some of these routines are pretty normal, whereas others seem like fodder for self-help books.
According to research conducted by Northwestern Medicine in the US, and the University of Surrey in the UK, “night owls” have a 10 percent higher risk of dying sooner than “larks”. Out of almost half a million participants the study found 50,000 people were more likely to die over a six and a half year period.
Studies of motivation suggest that laziness may be caused by a decreased level of motivation, which in turn can be caused by over-stimulation or excessive impulses or distractions. These increase the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for reward and pleasure.
The following factors can contribute to fatigue, either alone or in combination: Psychological and psychosocial – stress, anxiety, and depression. Physical – anemia, diabetes, glandular fever, and cancer. Physiological – pregnancy, breast-feeding, inadequate sleep, and excessive exercise.
Common causes of fatigue include: Sleep disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia. Medical conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, anemia, problems with your thyroid gland like hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, and mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
morning types are attracted to concrete information rather than abstract thinking and like to rely on logic rather than intuition. They tend to be introverted, self-controlled, and eager to make a good impression on others.
Morning people prefer to rise with the sun and feel the most energetic earlier in the day. Night owls, on the other hand, sleep later into the day, perhaps even past noon, and reach their peak after the sun goes down.
"The 'morningness' was associated with greater happiness emotions in both age groups." Morning-type people also tended to say they felt healthier than did night owls. The researchers said this could be because they are getting better sleep since they are naturally morning people.
It's a common occurrence which we can chalk up to body chemistry. At 3am, when these irrational fears or regrets are taking place, your core body temperature starts to rise, secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin has peaked, and cortisol levels are rising as the body prepares to wake. Like what you see?
The peak time for waking up is between 6 and 6:30am. Twenty-three percent of our sample rises in that half-hour, and this is the point when more than half of the nation's potential audience is now awake. Another 26% rise between 6:30 and 7:30 – and now most all respondents are awake.