Are You a Night Owl or a Morning Lark?
Scientists believe that some people have a genetic predisposition to rise early, like a morning lark, or to stay up late like a night owl. These genetic tendencies may lead to subtle variance in circadian rhythms, with a desire to sleep shifted either slightly early or late.
Others may have profound shifts in their circadian rhythms causing disorders that lead to problems meeting social or professional obligations. For example, teenagers are prone to delayed sleep phase syndrome with a desire to stay up until the wee hours of the morning while sleeping in the next day. The other extreme, with early bedtimes and wake-times, may represent advanced sleep phase syndrome. Each of these may be effectively treated with gradual shifts in the sleep schedule, or with the use of melatonin or bright light therapy.
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Comments
Wow, the night owls definitely outweigh the early birds, or even those who are in-between the two. lol. I love to stay up late and I’ve always been that way, at least since I was about 17. My mother was the same way, being a night owl, like myself. Before I developed my sleeping disorder of Hypersomnia, which many might think it’s due to my
crazy late hours. Well that’s just so
untrue b/c I used to be able to get 8
hours of sleep after I drited off, to
feel half-good the next day. Like, b4 my sleep disorder if I went to bed at 4am, I would feel well rested, by noon or 1pm at the latest. Now, I can’t get out of bed, every other day! It’s like I try to make the most out of all my days, and in return, the following day is spent sleeping almost 24 hours! Every other day, for the past two years! I’ve talked to my doctor about it and he told me to cut down on my sleepy meds, which was Benadryl, and that does make one tired.