Returning to Night Owl Life
Despite my best intentions to remain on my husband’s schedule, I find myself slipping. The pull of staying up later and sleeping in later overwhelms me. The past few days I have allowed myself to wake up naturally around 10:30 a.m., and I feel in synch with my internal clock again, at last.
Left to my own devices, I go to bed around 2:30 a.m. and wake up around 11 a.m. or noon everyday. Throughout my childhood, high school, and college years, I stayed up late. My most nocturnal schedule developed while I was in graduate school when I would stay up until 5 a.m., go to sleep with the birds chirping, and wake up around noon for my afternoon classes. Some people would think that the reduced sunlight would lead to depression, but it did not, at least not at that point in my life. During vacations the last several years, I would transition with ease back into my nocturnal schedule, going to bed later each night and sleeping well into the morning.
Though the old saying “The early bird gets the worm” persists, I never thought I was missing out on anything that happened in the morning, and I definitely never thought worms sounded very tasty. I admire people who wake up and exercise, write, cook a full breakfast, etc. all before the workday starts. Fortunately, I know myself well enough to know that the morning life simply is not for me. One day years ago, I decided to wake up at 7 a.m. (forty minutes earlier than my usual work wakeup time) to exercise. Slogging away to my Wii Biggest Loser game that early felt like some sort of medieval torture. It took forever to feel remotely awake and forget about getting my heartrate up. The workout needed about 10 times more effort than the same exercise routine at night. Needless to say, that was the only time I exercised in the morning.
As a night owl, you have to find ways to cope in the early bird world. Over the years, I perfected a routine that required the least amount of time to prepare for work, allowing for me to sleep longer in the morning which was always top priority. In the end, my morning routine lasted about 45 minutes.
- Shower at night – This one was a big morning time-saver. Plus, showering at night reduced the amount of pollen and other allergens on my body, and it helped me fall asleep faster (with the sharp rise in body temp followed by a fall), which is something a night owl needs anyway.
- Maintain a low-maintenance hairstyle – My hair is straight with a good cut. All I did was brush it and walk out the door. If I noticed sleep hair (usually a lump in my crown), I’d just pat it down with water. Yes, it sounds lazy, and it is, but when you’re choosing sleep, you make sacrifices.
- Manage your time – Each morning I would wake up at 7:40 a.m., start the coffee maker (a night owl essential), walk to the den to put on my makeup while watching the news, and then I’d get my coffee and breakfast and return to the den to watch the news. After breakfast, I’d go upstairs, brush my teeth, brush my hair, get dressed, and then head to work. My routine became clockwork, and by 8:25 a.m. each morning, I was out the door.
On the other side of employment, I follow a similar pattern but at a slower pace and at a later time. This pace resonates with me, and I already feel more alive. Though I know I will likely return to the early bird working world someday, I am going to savor living in my natural circadian rhythm for a change. I understand why the world operates as it does, but I have to wonder if people could contribute more to the world if they lived according to their own internal clocks rather than fighting what is natural. I hope that by stepping outside the whirlwind of everyday life and being true to my nature that something creative inside of me will unlock and flow. There is hope.
