Everyone knows the old quote, "The early bird gets the worm" but is this really true? What about people who function better at night? Do we just assume it's true because it logically makes sense in our brains, or has it been scientifically proven?
Truthfully, there are definitely a lot of benefits of starting your day early. You get more hours in your day to be productive, it's easier to focus, and it helps your sleep schedule. Our bodies have a biological clock, also known as our circadian rhythm, that naturally follows a certain pattern that allows us to rise with the sun and sleep when it sets. However, because we often mess with our sleeping schedule it may disturb this clock causing us to become more inefficient. We grow tired in the mornings and our diets or the times we get hungry change. By waking up earlier, getting things done, and finishing your day at a reasonable time, we can often avoid loss in focus and weight gain.
Unfortunately, that means there might be some cons for those that are night owls like me and can't seem to focus in the day. There are a couple solutions that may work if you face similar problems. Waking up earlier has always been difficult no matter how well you sleep, and you find yourself in way better focus at night. Some things that are known to help reset your biological clock is exercise. Exercising helps tone your body, boosts up the production of good endorphins, changes your diet, and allows you to sleep better at night. So I guess the first step is to just try committing to changing your schedule. Another choice could be prioritizing. Give yourself work that requires less thought to do during the day, and those with more detail for the night. This is definitely not a permanent solution with your circadian rhythm, but a better way to organize yourself in the meantime.
One of the most important things to do is to get a proper amount of sleep. Too little and too much sleep can both be equally detrimental in different ways. Too little sleep may cause you to be dysfunctional and dangerous to those around you if you choose to drive. Too much sleep can actually cause you to be more lethargic and unmotivated. 7-9 hours is best. If this may not be very realistic if you have a lot to get done in the day, 10-20 minute power naps can help as well. No more, no less. Less will most likely not give you enough time to fall asleep, and too much well end up reducing your performance and cause grogginess.
You should be the person who knows your body best and how much you can and cannot handle. Be careful of how you treat it.
