We’re all familiar with the phrase, “the early bird gets the worm.”
You’re either delighted as the sun rises, feeling most productive first thing in the morning, or you prefer hitting the snooze button, feeling most energetic at night.
If you’re a night owl who prefers being productive late in the evening, you may find it harder to function in everyday society.
Moreover, a 2019 study suggests that night owls have an increased risk of facing mental health and metabolic challenges.
That said, a striking 30 percent of the population identifies as night owls.
Is this just a biological predisposition? Or is there a way for a night owl to become the early bird they’ve always wanted to be?
The Science of Staying Up Owl Night Long
Some people are more active at certain times of the day than others, which is sometimes referred to as a “chronotype.”
Enjoying late nights while groaning at early mornings can get in the way of everyday life.
In fact, night owls are twice as likely to underperform at work in comparison to early birds.
The preference for being more active at night could be partially tied to pre-existing conditions like ADHD, which is thought to delay the onset of sleep while causing daytime grogginess.
Genetic markers like a genetic change in a gene called CRY1 are also associated with delayed onset of sleep.
It’s not all bad, though. Night owls are typically associated with spiked creativity, making them well suited for unconventional hours or professions.
However, you may still want to consider trying to switch up your routine.
Evening people are 25% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than morning people, according to a study of 300,000 people in theJournal of Internal Medicine.
Night owls may also suffer from sleep disorders responsible for delaying and interrupting sleep, such as insomnia or sleep apnea.
As a result, mood problems, poor concentration, and more arise.
Since night owls are more likely to have sleep disorders and disturbances that lead to health problems, the issue isn’t necessarilywhen you sleep. It’show much you sleep.
Your Body’s Internal Clock, Explained
All of our biological functions are tied to our internal clock, also called our circadian rhythm.
Circadian is rooted in the Latin phrase “circa diem,” which translates to “around a day.” These 24-hour cycles help us carry out essential biological processes.
When your circadian rhythm is properly optimized, it functions around the routine of each day and night, helping you achieve quality, restorative sleep each night.
If this rhythm is thrown off, insomnia and other health issues follow.
Our internal clock is tied to the regulation of hormones, the digestive tract, and even our brain activity.
This system is sensitive to light, which provides an external cue that signals to our body whether it’s day or night.
During the day, light tells us to produce hormones that cause us to feel alert.
In the absence of light, melatonin rises. This hormone promotes sleep, helping us wind down and restore our bodies and minds.
Some research indicates that circadian rhythm is even tied to immune system health, DNA repair, and other biological processes like blood sugar management and metabolism.
Sunlight exposure is vital for these processes to function as intended. Artificial light sources like blue light emitted from cell phones and electronics disrupt this rhythm, leading to sleep disorders.
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If you want to become the early bird you’ve always wanted to be, limiting artificial light sources and exposing yourself to sunlight are great places to start.
Here Comes the Sun: The Night Owl Becomes the Early Bird
Although the preference for being more active at night could be genetic or situational, there are some substantial lifestyle changes that can help you become the early bird you’ve always dreamed of being.
Furthermore, making these changes could help to improve your sleep quality, cure your insomnia, improve your health, and increase your productivity.
Slowly shifting your sleep schedule by 30 minutes each night can help you move up your sleep cycle to a desired “early riser” time slot.
However, shifting your sleep schedule doesn’t necessarily ensure that you’re sleeping for the proper duration or that your sleep is restorative.
Exposure to sunlight in the morning can help to change the body’s rhythm by signaling that it’s daytime, enforcing the strongest cue for your internal clock.
Moreover, avoiding artificial light sources that block melatonin production at least two hours before bed can help reinforce your circadian rhythm.
That means putting down your cell phone or tablet, turning off your television, and seeking out ambient light from dim sources rather than bright ones.
Blue light blocking glasses may filter out this light and reduce eye strain (as well as certain “night shift” modes on electronics) but more research is needed.
Daily exercise can also help you make the switch from night owl to early bird, but avoid strenuous exercise late in the day. This can have the opposite effect, stimulating you to feel awake rather than restful.
Exercise in the early morning hours, however, helps to support your internal clock and become the early bird you’ve always wanted to be.
Stimulants like caffeine are also known to throw our internal clock out of whack, so avoiding caffeine after noon can also help you shift to an earlier schedule.
What’s more, you should keep naps to a minimum. Take short naps early in the afternoon, if at all. Late or lengthy naps push back your bedtime, worsening your night owl problem.
Achieving more restful sleep during the night can help you diminish your need to nap.
By cutting out disruptions like mouth breathing and snoring, you’ll sleep more soundly than ever before.
Tape Your Way to Earlier Mornings
Mouth breathing fragments our sleep and harms our health, further contributing to the issues that being a night owl can cause.
On your journey to becoming the early bird that gets the worm, taping your mouth at night can help.
We weren’t designed to breathe through our mouths, although most of us do it habitually.
Taping your mouth shut as you sleep prevents mouth breathing, snoring, dry mouth, and fragmented sleep.
As your sleep quality improves, your circadian rhythm will fall into its proper pace.
SomniFix Mouth Strips are free of skin irritants like latex and gluten. Furthermore, our strips offer a gel-like adhesive that’s just as comfortable as the rest of your bedding!
Transform into the early bird you’ve always aspired to be. Add SomniFix to your sleep cycle improvement checklist tonight!
