A Night Owl's Ruminations
This morning, I was rudely awakened by the delivery boy (he did have a book I'd been wanting and nice eyes, so I'm not too mad at him though). Now, I know most of you may not consider the hour he woke me at scandalous (around 11 in the morning, if I'm to be honest. But that is entirely your problem. See, I'm very much a night person and I tend to go to sleep really late. I think it was 4 AM last night, around that anyway. So see, if you put it like that, it was pretty early.
And lately, I've been thinking because everyone tells you how it's bad for you not to sleep or to sleep at fucked-up schedules, how it's harmful for the body and all that. And the goal always seems to be to get your sleeping on schedule. Like a more normal schedule, say 2 AM to 9 or 10 in the morning (no, I will not consider anything earlier than that, so don't suggest it).
And although I have the best intentions, I really do, I can't seem to do it. And I keep asking why?
Maybe being a night owl isn't so bad after all. People are different, I keep telling myself (usually around 3 AM), and it's very possible that some work differently than others. So why attempt to change that? So I can live by what society's consideration of normal?
I don't have a regular job, so I see little point in going to bed early or waking up at 7, you know... Then there's all these articles online claiming things like 'you're most productive between 7 and 8 AM'. Yeah well, speak for yourself. I'm usually just really tired around those hours. I have tried doing the normal thing and sleeping at regular hours, but honestly, I wasn't as productive then. I do create a lot now, even though my sleeping might be screwy. I write a lot at night, particularly in the period between 1 and 3 AM. It's just a good time to be awake, for me.
Only your eyes are unclosed to see the black and folded
town fast, and slow, asleep. And you alone can hear the
invisible starfall
I don't know if Dylan Thomas was a night owl or not, but he captured the feeling perfectly. That's how it is, at least to me. There's something of great possibility in the dead of night. Something that, quite obviously, can't be experienced during the day time. Or who knows, maybe early risers have a similar feeling. I just don't.
So, I went in search of truths about night owls and since I am rather lazy and not really interested in reading cute posts that say night owls swear more (I had no fucking idea), I just clicked on this video.
See? My ancestors were up to protect your children. Now, what can you say for yourself?
And I'm gonna get a full day (almost) when I go, so chew on that!
Anyway, after feeling bad for a while and thinking I should have a more “normal” sleeping pattern, I've decided to say screw it. Who's to say what's normal anyway? I'm just going to sleep when I feel like sleeping and see where it takes me. Seems to be going pretty good so far.
Yeah, that's pretty much all my still-sleepy brain can come up with. Good enough.
What's your sleeping schedule?
PS: Yes, that is a children's book. How very observant of you.
Thanks for reading,
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People actually are different according to Mathew Walker in 'Why We Sleep' - about 30% have a genetic predisposition towards being 'evening people' -
So just sleep when you need to!
NB that book is full of research suggesting sleep is extremely important! But the hours don't matter so much.
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Yeah, they said that in the video too. I had no idea, but I'm glad to know. I feel a lot better about sleeping the way I do (well, I didn't feel bad before either, that's a lie...).
Oh I know it is, I'm a big sleep-supporter. I love sleeping, when I do manage to :))
Whaaaa... Eve recommended that exact book just yesterday! :D Matthew Walker is damn awesome dude for what I've seen his talks in YouTube - gotta get the book when it comes to my local library!
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It was one of my best reads of 2018, possibly the best read!
In the meantime, make sure you get some decent sleep every night!
Definitely! I've been sleeping really well lately, sometimes even 10 hours a day. That's a good thing of course, especially when I had been a bit sleep deprived while traveling.
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You don't have a dayjob, so as long as you sleep enough and the quality is good, I see no problem with the way you sleep :)
Because of holidays, my sleeping schedule had been bit delayed, because we often went sleeping after 2am in the cottage and woke around noon - which is unusual for me - but now at home my natural rhythm seems to get back to a more typical schedule of mine which is going to bed around midnight and waking around 9am. But if I don't have much distractions (when I sleep in a bush :D), I tend to go sleep even earlier.
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I have never been a night owl OR an early bird. I'm more of a middle-of-the-day person. I require a great deal of sleep. I haven't had a proper "schedule" for sleep since my first pregnancy, 35 years ago. Then there was a squally newborn, and then teething, and then another baby, and more teething, and a third baby, and a snoring husband, and then hot flashes and night sweats, and teens coming in at all hours, and more years of night sweats, and by now my idea of a good night's sleep would probably horrify most "experts." But I'm still alive and kicking!!
I am definitely a morning person, but always have been so. I do get most of my creative time early morning. What is interesting is if I end up staying late, say 1 or 2 am, my body still gets me up no later than 7, not sure why.
I think unless you want to change , just go with your body's natural sleep schedule, however if you feel sleepy or want a change you could see if you are doing things like using a computer screen/tablet/tv during bed time, the light patterns (you see it flicker if you take a video of a computer screen) often lead to people not falling asleep, so reading a book is better than a screen before bed. I've also read that if people eat really late, the digestive cycle can also cause the body to stay away, as it wants to use and store the energy from the food.
If you like being a night owl though, who cares, owl on. I know I love being an early bird and wouldn't want to change that, so do what feels right.
I've been having trouble getting things done lately because I've been forgoing my early morning work schedule to hang out with my friends here in England with the hope to come home and work in afternoon to evening. It is not being very successful for me.