Healthy, Wealthy, and DEAD?: 5 Reasons Why Getting Up Early Might be Harmful
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Clay
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.*
-Benjamin FranklinEarly to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.*
-James Thurber
It is accepted dogma — perhaps even holy writ — among more than a few personal development writers that getting up early leads to increased productivity. Becoming an early riser has become something of a rite of passage for productivity gurus, and articles on how to become an early riser have been among the first written — and most popular — posts by self-help bloggers such as Steve Pavlina. There’s even an entire blog devoted to waking up early, and the blog claims that "any person who…sets serious goals in his/her life turns to rising early, sooner or later."
Chronotype /krawn.uh.typ, krohn.uh.typ/ (n). The set of circadian factors that determine whether someone is a morning person or an evening person. Humans have been defined in terms of three major circadian types or chronotypes, using measures such as the Horne-Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Scale, a subjective instrument which has been correlated with body temperature and other physiological factors. The three types are "morning," "evening" and "indifferent" or "mid-range". The first two categories each represent approximately 15% to 20% of the human population and the "indifferent" or "mid-range" category applies to the majority (60% to 70%) of humans.
-Word Spy
Before I possibly offend someone, let’s get two things out of the way…
Who Should Not Read this Article
- This article is NOT for people who naturally get up before 5:30am and who have trouble staying in bed after that. If you’re a morning chronotype (i.e. a morning person), then count yourself lucky — society is on your side.
- This article is not for people who, due to insurmountable logistical factors, have very little practical choice about getting up at some ungodly hour in the morning. I believe that anyone can succeed despite working against the better judgment of their body.
New research has found that each person has a distinct "chronotype" — a genetically programmed biological clock preference. This explains why some people like to stay up late, others are early-risers, and some sleep in on weekends.
-Nova Spivack
Still reading? Cool. So before talking about why getting up early might not be ideal, I’m going to lay some groundwork by discussing…
Why Mornings Might Suck –or– Why Getting Up Early Works for Some People
- Morning is when blood sugar levels are the lowest. You’ve gone all night without food and your brain is off-kilter. Low blood sugar really affects your mood (adversely). Getting up three hours early allows you to preempt the blood sugar low and prematurely cut it off, head it off at the pass, etc.
- Levels of the stress hormone cortisol are naturally highest in the early morning and when many people wake up. Waking up before cortisol levels peak allows you to save yourself.
- For people who are not early risers (i.e. late or midrange chronotypes), the morning can present a horrible double bind. On one hand, you could get up and be tired throughout the day. On the other hand, you could stay in bed and risk being late to work. So what do you do? Hit the snooze button, of course :-). If you learn to go to bed early and train your body to wake up on time, you might avoid the double bind.
Normal variation in chronotypes encompasses sleep/wake cycles that are from about two hours earlier to about two hours later than average. Extremes outside of this range can cause a person difficulty in participating in normal work, school, and social activities. If a person’s "lark" or (more commonly) "owl" tendencies are strong and intractable to the point of disallowing normal participation in society, the person is considered to have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder.
-Wikipedia
Another factor in favor of getting up early is that…
Getting Up Early Creates the Illusion of Free Time
Most people give themselves permission to do what they want when they’re up early. It really boils down to social conditioning: we give ourselves permission to focus on us when we know that our peers aren’t working. The same principle applies to the weekends: we might have tons of work to do, but we still feel comfortable sleeping in because we feel entitled to it. Also, getting up before email and voicemail starts piling allows us to work with a clear mind. And if we get up early to do job-related work, it creates the illusion that we are somehow getting ahead (work, however, is not a race and starting early is often just a temporary fix).
Despite the benefits of getting up early, there can be serious drawbacks if you are not an early-morning person. Indeed, if you are a late or mid-range chronotype there may be several…
Reasons Why Getting up Early Might be Harmful
- Getting up early could be defying your body. For many, waking up early is like kicking against the genetic pricks or swimming against the circadian tide. Tim Ferriss, author of the Four Hour Work Week, found that 1-5am “was the only time that provided consistent progress” when he was writing his bestselling book.
- Getting up early could affect the quality of your sleep. A study published in the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research noted that quality of sleep suffered when study participants got up early. This, of course, makes sense: we’re likely to sleep better when we’re living in sync with our circadian rhythms.
- Getting up early can lead to sleep deprivation. Marc Wittmann, a psychiatrist at the University of California, showed that late chronotypes built up sleep debts during work days. For study participants, being forced to get up early did not equal going to bed late. (Takeaway: you’re likely to oblige your genes even if you are tired after getting up at 4:00am, or some other ungodly hour :-).
- Getting up early could decrease your productivity and creativity. Peak creative and productive hours can vary significantly from person to person (see point #1). If you get up early, you may be far too tired and therefore useless during times when you are most disposed to being creative and/or productive.
Early risers prefer to gather knowledge from concrete information. They reach conclusions through logic and analysis. Night owls are more imaginative and open to unconventional ideas, preferring the unknown and favoring intuitive leaps on their way to reaching conclusions. Social behavior diverges as well: Morning people are more likely to be self-controlled and exhibit “upstanding” conduct; they respect authority, are more formal, and take greater pains to make a good impression. (Earlier research also suggests that they are less likely to hold radical political opinions.) Evening people, by contrast, are “independent” and “nonconforming,” and more reluctant to listen to authority—which suggests that teachers may have several reasons to prefer those students who wake up in time for class.
-Juan Francisco Díaz-Morales - Getting up early could be affecting time with family and loved ones. If you get up at 4:30am, then you’ll have to be in be in bed by 8:30pm (and start getting ready for bed at 8:00pm, 7:30am?), if you want the full eight hours. This could very well result in missed evening time with your spouse and children.
"Interesting," you say, "but what about the Franklin vs. Thurber thing in the quotes at the top of this article?" I’m glad you asked…
*Early to Bed/Rise Not Associated with Health, Success, or Death
With reference to the Franklin vs. Thurber debate alluded to at the beginning of this article, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found no correlation between bed habits, income, educational attainment, or mortality rate. Takeaway: early to bed and early to rise is not connected to health, wealth, or wisdom.
Final note: There are lots of points and counterpoints to this issue (what are yours? I’d love to read your comments). For example, the cited research was based on group data, which means that all findings might not pertain to you; the findings do, however, pertain to the average person in the studied population. There is, however, no average person. I should also mention that Leo Babauta and Steve Pavlina appear to be great people and their blogs have helped me immensely. They have shared experiences of what has worked for them, but they by no means claim that getting up early is unequivocally THE WAY.
Gratitude!
- To Skelli: for educating and inspiring me to write better articles.
- To Timothy Ferriss: for confirming my suspicion that people do experience peak creativity levels at insane hours :-).
- To Leo Babauta and Steve Pavlina: for getting me to think about early rising in the first place.
- To Mother Fools Coffee Shop: for providing a great writing environment.
- To Trisha Brunner: for the great photograph.
And gratitude to you for reading!
~Clay
Technorati Tags: chronotype, circadian type, getting up early, cortisol, morning, early riser, waking up early, healthy, wealthy, wise, Horne-Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Scale, late risers, blood sugar, sleep, sleep/wake cycles, circadian rhythm, sleep deprivation, sleep debt, peak creativity and productivity, James Thurber, Benjamin Franklin
Naomi Dunford said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 3:25 am
Holy writ indeed. Were you not also aware that getting up earlier will eliminate world hunger, halt the jihad, and take care of the national debt?
I’m pretty normal when it comes to sleep — if I’m not pregnant, I can get up or go to bed whenever. My husband needs 11 hours, preferably from around 1 a.m. till about noon. It’s amazing the flak he gets for this. People think he’s lazy, undisciplined, boring, unproductive, the works. The man has a sleep disorder, for crying out loud. Getting up to meditate ain’t doing squat for that.
Thanks for some words of reason. Great post.
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 3:33 am
@Naomi: Thanks for reading! Sleeping disorders are tough, but there’s actually a lot more variance in required sleeping time among adults than people might think. Some people get 4 hours and function just fine, while others, like your husband, need 11. The 8 hour work day was socially constructed, and in a few ways, so was the 8 hour night of sleep.
I hope you’ll stop by again :-).
~Clay
Annie J said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 7:08 am
Hmmm, interesting article. As a high school student, I have to admit, I really hate getting up @ 5 in the morning so I can get to zero period. Interestingly, you’re right - the teachers do prefer the kids who show up to the ones who come late. We perform better, too. But still, if I could avoid zero period, I would. And I don’t get sleepy till around 11, so I end up with 6 hours of sleep. I usually need at least 8-8.5 hours. Sleep debt sucks…but weekends are redemption! Haha. The two quotes up at top are definitely food for thought ;) Nice work!
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 7:20 am
@ Annie J: I’m having high school flashbacks. Whew. OK… I think I’ve regained my composure :-). So yeah, the ironic part is that in high school you actually NEED to sleep in (see the text below), and that in college sleeping in often becomes the rule.
(College shopping, by the way, is insanely fun. Are you in the market? I’d look at Carleton, although I didn’t go there myself).
Good luck with everything! And thanks for stopping by :-)
By the way, you might also be interested in this:
———————
Pupils shift their time of day preferences from morningness to eveningness during the age of puberty. Therefore, early school start times may have a negative influence on school functioning, adolescent health and on grade point average. Here, we show that morningness – eveningness influences school performance as measured by the final school leaving/university entrance certificate.
Correlation between morningness – eveningness and final
school leaving exams
CHRISTOPH RANDLER & DANIELA FRECH
Biological Rhythm Research
June 2006; 37(3): 233 – 239
———————
Warren said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 7:31 am
This is quite the contrary to what I have heard in the past and I will take it to heart. Maybe next semester I won’t take the 9am econ class to try to inspire me to wake up earlier.
Annie J said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 7:37 am
Haha, you are a silly person. I don’t really use RSS feeds because I haven’t sat down and found one I like. Google reader is too email-y looking. Plus, I like looking at people’s sites rather than just their post. The colors and images in the layout also add to the appeal of the site. So, while you are not in any feeder, you are already in my bookmarks tab. I have a few blogs I check out every other day (Urban Monk and Zen Habits are 2 of the 5…err, 6 now) so yay for you! :) I look forward to future posts. :)
I think it would be amazing if schools could shift the times. We have a late start day once a month, which is heaven, but once a month is not enough! They should do it more. Like everyday. XD And while they’re at it, I’d prefer block schedule too…. XD Wishful one, I am.
Luckily, this wonky time thing has not affected my grades too harshly - 4.57 isn’t so bad! :D I’m a junior - college shopping will start this summer, I imagine! :) But I have no idea what I want to major in. Anything but math or engineering…that’s all I know. And school size? I have no idea. :P
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 7:46 am
@Warren: First off, sweet blog!
Yeah, the article does go against the grain, but the main message is faintly intuitive when you throw up out the social stigma associated with getting up late.
At any rate, researchers (who I cited) can do lots of experiments, but in the end there’s usually lots of variance in the dataset (at least in the social sciences). They can explain what a general population *tends* to do, but what a group of people tend to does not necessarily apply to every individual studied.
My advice — which isn’t very original at all — is to do what works for you. My hope in writing this piece was that it would give people room (or self-permission) to consider that getting up late might be best the most productive and healthy thing to do :-).
Thanks for stopping by, Warren. I appreciate the comment.
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 8:00 am
@Annie J
“I have a few blogs I check out every other day (Urban Monk and Zen Habits are 2 of the 5…err, 6 now) so yay for you! :) I look forward to future posts. :)”
Awwww…
> I think it would be amazing if schools could shift the times.
I think there’s actually an educational reform movement somewhere with that agenda. I bet if you poked around the internet you’d find a petition to sign.
> 4.57 isn’t so bad! :D
Nice work!
Keep it up Annie,
Clay
Paul said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 2:15 pm
I like you in depth analysis, Clay. I had problems with this getting-up-early advices as they just don’t work for me. My best efficiency time is 9pm-1am. It is dark, my family is asleep, it is quite and I can concentrate on things to do.
Great thanks for an alternative point of view. Much appreciated!
Nagar said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
This is good reading.Maybe thats why i am flustered the days i wake up early.
Jess said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
Clay,
This is the first time that I’ve read your blog…
Great writing!
I have always been battling with my sleep schedule, hitting the snooze button from 6am-8am straight before turning off the darn thing and rolling over until 10am this morning.
In school, I often missed my first class, and I later bacame a bartender. I gave up that career, and I am starting a wellness business along with persuing my musical talents. Now, I am trying to wake up early to write and to do yoga and cardio. I was successful for about a week…It felt great! But I am still battling it out.
Your article is making me consider throwing in the towel and just waking up whenever I feel like and staying up as long as I can see straight to be productive. Thanks for the insight!
Ian Welsh said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 5:43 pm
Clay! Located this post on digg.com. Great read!
I’m going back to bed.
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 18, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
@ Paul:
Regarding this:
“It is dark, my family is asleep, it is quite and I can concentrate on things to do.”
Your comments are great because they reflect what many people say about the morning “my family is in bed, I can sleep, etc.” 9PM-1AM are pretty much my peak productivity hours as well.
@Paul #2: I’m glad that you enjoyed the in-depth analysis. I was a tad worried that people would find it to be off-putting. Thanks for sticking around for the whole article.
@Nagar: Could be. Good luck trying to figure out your peak hours. It’s a fun and rewarding process, especially when you let go of the idea that you MUST be up early.
@Jess: Thanks for the compliment on my writing. I’m new at this game and your compliments are encouraging. I would encourage you to “wake up whenever you feel like it” but I’d caution against “staying up as long as I can see straight to be productive.” My advice is to trust your body when it comes to getting up *and* going to bed. If it’s evening and you feel like you should be in bed, then you’re probably right. Just my two cents.
@Ian: Thanks for digging this. Um… I didn’t run into you while doing a roommate search in Madison back in the day, did I?
Katie said,
Wrote on February 19, 2008 @ 1:08 am
Clay,
I’m also a first time reader. What do you think about going to bed at the same time (no matter what time), everyday/night? I’m very concerned about stress and this is supposed to be an important factor in reducing it.
I also think that your article gives alot of people a sense of relief because it is a common belief that people who sleep in are lazy. I however are kinda of the same belief system as you, meaning you should trust your own body. However, everything in moderation.
I’m definitely interested in stopping by again. Thanks!
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 19, 2008 @ 1:53 am
@ Katie: Thanks for stopping by. The Growing Life is more or less new, so I think pretty much everyone stopping by is a first-time reader :-). I’m grateful that you read my article and thought about enough to comment.
I would suggest trying it out the same time thing and seeing if it works. My hunch is that alterations/cycles/whatever in your body, in the weather, in your workload, etc. also require fluctuations in your sleep schedule. You might be unnecessarily boxing yourself in, or swimming upstream, if you try and *will* your body into doing something.
As for the stress, I would highly recommend meditation. Have you tried it? 10 minutes per day is all it takes for me and it’s a small price to pay for mental clarity. The effects don’t kick in immediately, however. It takes time, patience. It’s also helped me tune into my and identify my real needs. Again, just my two cents. (Oh, I’d recommend a book called The Power of Now).
Thanks for reading.
Amy said,
Wrote on February 20, 2008 @ 8:51 pm
Thank you for your insightful article. I have been wondering where all the impetus is coming from to make people feel that they must rise before dawn. It’s nuts!
Before electricity (millions of years of human evolution)the average person slept 10-12 hours per night. Not 8, or 4, or 6. Nowadays millions of people complain about fatique and depression and so on - how many of them are getting a good night’s sleep?
I also think that coffee worship is a serious problem. Caffeine is linked to many health problems, from IBS to hypertension to PMS. It seems more and more that the world goes round on this artificial stimulation.
I, for one, am tired of dealing with anxiety-ridden spaced-out would-be-overachievers who just get on everyone’s nerves. Go back to bed!
#################
Hi Amy,
Your point about pre-electricity habits is a good one. The anthropology of sleep is an interesting issue, and one that hasn’t received much treatment (from what I can tell). This bit from wikipedia is interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Anthropology_of_sleep
At any rate, thanks for expanding the discussion and providing a different angle on this topic.
~Clay
Sleeping Dude said,
Wrote on February 20, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
Hello Clay!
When I wrote “any person who…sets serious goals in his/her life turns to rising early” I never meant everyone succeeds at it :-) Bust most at least try it… And if something doesn’t work for you - accept it and go find another way. There are many other great ways to be productive.
Linked to this great post from my site…
Cheers!
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on February 20, 2008 @ 10:50 pm
Hey Sleeping Dude,
I believe you’re right about most people aspiring to rise early at some point or another: modern life is likely much easier for early risers. And, unfortunately, like you say, not everyone succeeds.
Your site is great and has helped a lot of people become an early riser (including me, in a past life).
Honored that you joined the conversation,
~Clay
ListenEllipse said,
Wrote on February 21, 2008 @ 4:58 am
Great post. One thing I can attest to as a college student is the amount of sleep you need related to when you get it. Having 8am classes one semester that required me to wake up at 7:15 meant I was tired even when I had over 8 hours of sleep. This semester when I don’t have to wake up till 10:30, I can get away with less than 7 hours a night and fell better than when I have getting over 8.
——————————
Hi ListenEllipse,
You bring up an excellent point that I failed to mention in the article. When your sleep schedule is aligned with your circadian rhythm, less sleep is necessary. The corollary is that but when your sleep schedule is out of sync with your circadian rhythm, MORE sleep is necessary. I’m really glad you mentioned this.
~Clay
Paul Montwill | Sharingmatters.com said,
Wrote on February 22, 2008 @ 9:41 am
Great advice ListenEllipse. I need to find out how to stick to my circadian rhythm. I don’t have much time to sleep and need to find my efficient way.
Liq said,
Wrote on February 22, 2008 @ 10:14 am
Hi!!
Nice article….I like it…
Actually I’m not a morning person…I hardly get up early in the morning…
I just knew that getting up early might be harmful…. ^^
Keith Johnson said,
Wrote on February 22, 2008 @ 5:16 pm
Clay: You seem like a nice young guy, but please, don’t hold poor ol’ Ben Franklin in contempt! When I was your age, I spent many nights out, partying, socializing, but as you get older and wiser, things change, and indeed getting up early is a good thing. So, enjoy yourself now, and then in about 10-15 years you will find yourself discovering your most brilliant ideas in the early morning hours…trust me on this! Regards, Keith J, Author “365 Great Affirmations”.
###
Hi Keith,
Ben was wise on many accounts. The gist of the article is that there is no single way. Truth, as Krishnamurti says, is a pathless land and there are real biological differences that translate into optimal sleeping times, and these optical sleeping times vary from person to person. That’s really the main point.
Glad you stopped by,
Clay
JEMi @ InMyHeels said,
Wrote on February 23, 2008 @ 9:09 am
I’ll be the first to say that I find waking up at ungodly hours is cruel and unusual punishment. Funny enough, I can cherish early summer mornings.. I find them beautiful. But .. not rushing off to work/class. Morning time is just my built in down time.. and I am productive at the gym, with my work, my writing, everything at night. Go figure
This was an interesting read- a great first stop
I found this site through ZenHabits and I’m pretty glad I did
I’ll be coming around more often - what a find!
Sherry Ford said,
Wrote on February 25, 2008 @ 3:31 am
I’ve been a night person for as long as I can remember. My husband, who I suspect is probably one of those “indifferent” or “midrange” people (especially since he seems to be able to sleep at will), has during the past year begun getting up at 4:30 a.m. to exercise and, therefore, going to bed at 8:30, when I’m just beginning to come alive. He insists that I could “change” my natural programming if I just wanted to do so. Thanks for a bit of supportive information to the contrary! Here in my mid-50s, it’s way disconcerting to be experiencing deja vu as my husband echoes the long-ago imperitives of my father to “go to bed!” Found your site via Zen Habits and I’ll definitely be looking in again.
Sherry
@Stephen | Productivity in Context said,
Wrote on February 27, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
Great research and commentary. I used to be a night-person, but as I have aged, I shifted. About 9 years ago I got a job that had the hours 6am - 3pm, so I had to wake up at 4:00 in order to have time to journal and eat and drive to work (40 mins each way). I have been an early riser ever since. When I changed jobs, and didn’t have to go in until 8 or 9, i suddenly “found” 2-3 extra hours each day. What a miracle.
Now I arise at 5-5:30 every day, without an alarm, and get to it! My most creative ideas come to me in the morning, and at night I tend to start dragging.
BTW I am now a subscriber, thanks!
Jessie said,
Wrote on March 2, 2008 @ 6:55 am
Yay! It’s 2am eastern time as I’m typing this - so it’s clear what side of the morning-night-person line I’m on! I had come to believe that I “needed” to start getting up at 6am to if I was going to implement the productivity strategies I’ve been reading about in several blogs/books - but I’ve always been the most productive at night. Glad to know I’m not alone and there’s science to back me up!
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on March 2, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
@Jessie: Yeah, it’s comforting to know that there’s more than one route to personal development. When it doubt, trust your body.
Kelly Rigby@ SHE-POWER said,
Wrote on March 3, 2008 @ 2:03 am
Clay
I am so with you here. My natural rhythm has always been to stay up late and get up late. Even as a little girl my mum said I would sneak around the house on my hands and knees trying to find a “secret” position where I could watch tv and my parents wouldn’t see me. They fought to get me to bed and out of bed my entire childhood. Nothing has changed. My peak writing time is still 11pm - 2am. I just can’t help it.
Kelly
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on March 4, 2008 @ 1:03 am
11p to 2PM? That sounds familiar.
Dan said,
Wrote on March 4, 2008 @ 5:39 am
Clay –
First off, just wanted to compliment you; this blog is a clearly a work of great love and effort, and the little I’ve looked through, you really have a keen ability to foster a discussion environment.
Next, I just wanted to give my two cents:
Last semester, I had 8 or 9 AM classes every day. Certainly not “ungodly” hours of the morning, but still plenty early, especially if I was going to go through whole hour-plus morning routines.
This semester, none of my classes start before noon. I wake up when my body tells me to, usually between 9:30 and 10:30. I sleep eight-and-a-half to nine hours a night, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier. Of course, a lot of the happiness has little to do with sleep schedules, but I think it plays an important role behind the scenes. I’m sleeping more than ever, and so I’m feeling more energetic and focused than I ever did last semester. While friends complain about grogginess after late-afternoon classes and stumble back to their dorms to crash, I grab a snack and get to work. Since the beginning of the semester, I’ve started tutoring, writing and editing for the school newspaper, ushering at a local theater, and writing every day — not to mention the requisite studying and surviving college.
So, in summary, for me, allowing myself to wake up later has actually increased my productivity and happiness. I’m sure some day I’ll try Leo’s plan for waking up early and taking advantage of those early hours, but the energy and focus I get from a natural, complete sleep cycle is not something I want to give up.
Anyways, keep up the good work with blog — I’m subscribing! Good job! Take care.
Louise Pool said,
Wrote on March 4, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
@Keith
I’m older (45) and wiser (I hope) and my peak times are still 10 pm to 2 am.
§Clay
Great article, again. This is my second read on this blog and I am off to subscribe now.
I sleep from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. and meditate for 30 min at around 6 p.m. I certainly have less need for sleep than on a so-called normal schedule.
Nez said,
Wrote on March 6, 2008 @ 8:14 pm
Good points, Clay.
Sometimes I need to wake up early just because I’m too tired by 9pm (kids, ya know!). And other times, I stay up late to work (after the kids are put to bed, when the house is finally quiet).
But I do love sleep, though.
I’ve sometimes wondered how much of one’s lifespan depended on the amount of sleep one got throughout one’s lifetime — then I snap out of it and get back to work.
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on March 7, 2008 @ 1:20 am
@Very good points. Getting up later has also had the same affect on me. And subscribing to my blog is really the best complement someone can give me about this website, so I thank you for that.
Kerouacky said,
Wrote on March 31, 2008 @ 2:05 pm
Thank you Clay for another interesting read. So far, I have found your blog to be first-rate (I’m a new reader-of-blogs, but so far you’re the only one to make it onto my favourites tab).
It’s been a couple weeks since anyone has commented on this article, so naturally I feel a need to keep things fresh. A point that did not come up (so far as I can see) is how the evolution of public education will address this issue. From my observations, public education is moving swiftly toward a much more independent framework. Inexpensive access to technology continues to revolutionize public classrooms, and it is not a stretch to see the implications of this. Only two decades ago many had to complete their computer class assignments or essays in class, because home computers were not nearly as available as they are today. Now, students have the option - or are expected - to complete the same work at home. What might the next step be? Glad you asked! I suspect a significant portion of education will become decentralized. Students will be able to ‘login’ to class from bed - or better - login when they feel like it. It is no secret that interactive classrooms exist already, and I think it is only a matter of time before the public will not want to pay the overhead for infrastructure, auxiliary staff, etc. when they can receive the same results without the cost. Maybe I digress a bit, but the gist is that such an education system would allow people to schedule their day around their own sleep patterns. I’m not suggesting there aren’t many other factors related to this type of education system (lack of social dynamic) to discuss, but that is for another time and another place. Again, thanks for the food for thought. My peabrain needs it!
Damon L. said,
Wrote on April 1, 2008 @ 11:52 pm
Keep in mind Ben Franklin was crucial to daylight savings time creation, and back in his day there were few jobs that would allow for night owl behaviors.
And to the person who told Clay to wait10-15 years and then he’ll see … Well I’m almost 40 and I love sleeping until 9:30, going to sleep around 1 a.m. while reading blogs like this in bed on my iphone in the dark while my wife is sleeping next to me…and we have 4 kids as well so life isn’t easy! Thankfully my job let’s me come in when I need to, as long as I get my work done. I’m very blessed in that respect.
Liara Covert said,
Wrote on April 7, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
Ever heard the phrase, “sleep when you’re dead?” This cultural phenomenon grew out of the idea sleep shouldn’t be necessary. Workaholics may have coined the phrase? Yet, on a physical plane, rest and regeneration are necessary. Its interesting to read about different sleep habits and the impact on different levels of productivity. It has been noted for instance, that shorter sleeps (i.e. shifts of 2-3 hours) a few times per day would lead to getting more out of life. Remind yourself everything is an opinion unless it is experienced by yourself.
Clay Collins said,
Wrote on April 7, 2008 @ 10:41 pm
@Liara: Regarding this: “Remind yourself everything is an opinion unless it is experienced by yourself.” Your statement is exactly what this post is about. Thanks for your comment.
Isabel Joely Black said,
Wrote on April 20, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
I couldn’t resist having a browse of your site today since I’m planning to mention it in my podcast next week. I happened across this article and was pleased to read that there is some backing to my personal experience. Although I put myself on a plan to do a “working day” (9-5) whilst writing Amnar in order to make it feel like it was real, valid work, I’ve discovered that the writing isn’t the same as it was when I was writing at home, late at night. For some reason, 8.30pm is the kick-off for a push of massive creativity when I can write for hours. Any earlier and I’ll spend most of the time being distracted by things. I’ve been concerned that I was procrastinating, but it’s just that the “energy” isn’t right.
I’ve seen a lot of people setting themselves the standard of waking up at 5am or whatever. Whenever I’ve tried to do that I’ve ended up feeling deathly for most of the day, and it’s led me to conclude that you need good reasons to get up early. Which leads me to another point - there’s something of a hatred of sleep as though it’s wasting precious time. I think sleep is wonderful (possibly because I’ve always suffered from insomnia!), and I get most of my best ideas when I’m in bed.
From a confirmed night-owl, it’s good to see that a new perspective is being offered on the cult of the early-riser.
Alicia Keys said,
Wrote on April 27, 2008 @ 7:33 am
I completely agree to you. BTW I am a night owl.
Michelle Watson said,
Wrote on April 28, 2008 @ 1:16 am
Before that was also my problem to wake up early and the reason was because of my type of work that became my habit to sleep late. I thought i had already an insomnia which is hard to sleep on night. he.. what i did is to take the advice of my friend and these are drink a milk, take some herbal vitamins supplements which takes as my source of energy, and take a shower before i sleep it is good to feel fresh and cool. And now am back to normal again. he.. Anyways, i like your posted topic its well informative that gives reason to finish my reading. best regards…
Ungrateful said,
Wrote on April 29, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
I have always been an early riser. I love hitting the street for a morning walk when it’s still dark, cool and empty of nothing but joggers, dog walkers and garbage trucks and the homeless people have all gone to sleep in the doorways.
My boss won’t let me start work until 7:30 am so I have learned to sleep in until daylight.
I always wake up 3 minutes before the alarm clock goes off.
Great article. There really is nothing new under the sun, but that doesn’t mean everyone has seen it.
Thanks,
Duff said,
Wrote on May 7, 2008 @ 11:32 pm
Hells yea. Let’s hear it for late risers.
A book I’ve been reading called Adrenal Fatigue (basically the physiology of stress) recommends sleeping until 9am, because those with adrenal fatigue tend to get their best sleep during those hours. I’ve always been one of those people.
And the quote on being more creative if you stay up late and more boring and conventional has certainly been my experience of larks and owls.
Keep pwning these awesome posts.
~Duff
Detlev Tesch said,
Wrote on May 8, 2008 @ 5:05 am
Hi Clay,
very good article! Thank you.
I guess main stream opinion still discounts late risers as lazy.
Now for a different take on that: A friend who organised a seminar for me asked me for a flyer to advertise the event. I did that between midnight and 2 am. She was plainly amazed - the next day of course - how anybody could produce quality at that time of day (night).
And that is a time when those lazy early risers are already tired and sleeping… ;))
Ok, I am lucky to be a freelancer and often have the chance to create my day the way it suits me. But not when I give a seminar. Starting times are usually between 9 and 10. And that is a bit of an effert for me.
Well rising early or late is just a question of types, not of morals. And of having a choice.
Best wishes from Germany
Detlev