Night Owl or Morning Lark

My morning routine is timed down to the last possible second that I can stay in bed. I look at people with horror when they say that they get up early to do the housework before they go to work. When people say that they find it difficult to have a lie-in, I feel sorry for them on missing out on the delight of waking up and then realising that it's the weekend and you can turn over and drift of back to sleep again.  Over the years my colleagues have learnt not to expect greatness out of me first thing in the mornings. I only found out that the local street market really did open at 7am, when I was coming home one night (OK, morning) and realised I could buy some bread before going to sleep.

Yes, I am a self confessed Night owl and I love it. When on holiday I quickly drifted to the habit of going to sleep around 2am and waking around 10. There are times that I have struggled with it as as modern society tends to favour the Morning Lark - school hours, 9-5 working, shop opening hours etc. I have found ways to make it work for me and things are changing and though some people may complain about the 24 hour lifestyle, I am finding it's advantages.

Whether you are a Night Owl or Morning Lark has some genetic basis. Your own circadian rhythms have a huge influence on your sleep patterns, but just as you can change your sleep patterns to overcome jet lag, I can change to become a morning person.

This is not something I have ever relished doing, though is easier now that I have sorted my insomnia and now sleep well.
Working in daycare has meant that for most of my working life I have been subject to shift work. Not the huge shift patterns of night working but starting work anywhere between 7am and 10am. These changes are irritating enough to affect your routines but don't solicit the outpouring of sympathy that night shift workers get. For a morning person the answer to these slight changes would be to get up everyday at 6am, but for a sleep deprived person, this idea was bad news and late starts were seen as the opportunity for a sleep catch up and early finishes for an afternoon nap.

I did have one job where for 5 years I was working 9 - 5.30. I had hoped that over time, a regular getting up time would help my sleeping habits. It didn't. I still struggled for those 5 years of getting up at 7am for five days a week and enjoyed my weekend lie-ins.

Now that I am sleeping properly, I have been able to think about and have begun to change my sleeping habits. Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting up at dawn but I have reduced my lie-ins and am scheduling my sleep pattens into a slightly more modern world friendly schedule. Most days I go to bed around midnight and wake around 8am. It was an effort to do this at first, especially at the weekend, but I am seeing the benefits and am getting more done. Now when I stay up late because of a party, it is the exception and getting up early a couple of days a week for my earlier shifts at the crèche are not a struggle and I get the benefits of an early finish for my work day.

It would still be easy to go back to my extreme Night Owl ways, and I don't think I'll ever bounce out of bed at 6am, but for the moment, these new hours are suiting me fine.

What about you? Are you a morning person or do you dance on the tables till dawn? Are you happy with this, or do you want to change? Has a change in your life also made these changes for you? What adjustments have you made to your life to fit with or change these habits? Please comment below, it would be fascinating to find out?

Sweet dreams!