Night owls vs early birds – anyone else live happily on a late schedule?”

[Dreamsofanidiotmaybenot]

I’ve finally accepted that I am 100% a night owl. I’m in a great mood late at night, I’m productive, I think clearly, and I genuinely love it.
Mornings, on the other hand… I hate them. My day doesn’t really start properly until midday.
I don’t currently need to work, so I can sleep in the mornings if I want to. It suits my body and I feel so much better like this.

But I still find that people make me feel guilty, lazy or “undisciplined” just because I don’t live on a 6am–10pm schedule.

Anyone else like this? Are you an early bird or a night owl? And do you get judged for it?

If I didn’t have kids I’d be the same, although I still don’t go to bed until around 1am but have to get up early 😭
weekends I don’t get up early unless we’ve planned to go somewhere. I do find people are all high and mighty when they talk about how early they get up. The same as people who can’t possibly sit down during the day 😆

Yes - we (retired) are never in bed before 12 often not till 1-1.30. Wake up late. Love it.

I’m an early bird but don’t judge anyone else for their habits. I do go to bed ridiculously early but there are worst things to be judged for 🤣

Same here.

Rarely do we go to bed the same day we got up and rarely do we surface before 9am. Ridiculously I do sometimes feel guilty about sleeping half the morning away but I know there is no reason I should.

When we both worked we would be up between 7 and 8, but didn't really go to bed that much earlier than we do now.

I really couldn't be going to bed very early as I know I wouldn't sleep for hours if I did.

I am a night owl too. I am disabled and only work two days a week so it's nice that I can stay up later when I don't have to work the next day. I don't tell anyone though because I don't want to be made to feel guilty for being a night owl. I get up by 9.30am though (not on work days) because of disability related issues that don't allow me to stay in bed later.

My best friend is also a night owl. Her shifts are nearly all in the afternoon so she is lucky that she can live by the schedule that works for her. Neither of us have children.

Im a night owl and I dont have any specific time to go to bed or sleep. I sell online so am often up USA hours. Usually go to be sometime between 2-4 am and get up when ready. Sometimes I take a nap early evening. I love being awake when everyone else is asleep. It gives me a feeling of power and exhileration.

I used to be a late night late morning person but seemed to have changed into an early night late morning person, I can sleep for 9 hours easily. Although I have been under huge stress for some time now and think I’m just exhausted.

Night owl here to I sleep in the day up at night

Early bird here i am usually zonked by 9pm. Can wake naturally at 6. DH is a total night owl sometimes not going to bed until 3am. came in handy when it came to night feeds.

Happy night owl here.
Don’t let other people’s judgment spoil your life!

The only thing I can’t do is sleep late, though. Once I’m awake, I’m up so occasionally I have to nap in the day to catch up one sleep. Luckily I work for myself, so I don’t need to cater to other people’s timings.

I’ve never understood why people make early or late rising a moral issue. If I start work at 11am and work through until 7 or 8 pm, does that make me ‘lazier’ than a person who starts at 8 and works until 4 or 5? I don’t think so (provided this fits with work requirements and both are producing similar amounts of work). Yet people whose circadian rhythm is set later are liable to get snide remarks directed their way. I think this has always been the case.

I’m a night owl, I work hard, yet I’ve had ‘jokes’ and undermining comments about it since I was a teenager.

My ideal sleep schedule- if I could sleep well anyway would probably be midnight - 8.30am.

Unfortunately that doesnt work with what I need to do so I (unhappily) get up around 7am....but find it hard to go to bed early.

I do find that lots (definitely not all) early birds - especially if they exercise at a godforsaken time in the morning- seem quite smug or superior about it. Im not sure why its better to go for a run/to the gym at 5am than 8pm...? 🤷‍♀️

DH often complains about our teens sleeping in when they aren't at school or uni...but often they dont have anything they need to do specifically before 10am for example, why would they get up for no special reason?

I'm happy doing both. When i worked i went to bed at 10 up at 5, with usually a nap in the afternoon. At weekends i would go to bed about 2 and get up at 8.
Now i'm retired we go to bed about 12 and i get up any time between 6 and 10.
It's very freeing to do what you want.

You're my tribe.

I'm thinking of asking to change my hours to start later, because I'm so much more productive later on.

The worst thing about it is I spend all day wishing I could have a nap then the evening comes and I'm wide awake, so I sleep late and the whole cycle starts again.

I'm a neither! I'm asleep by 10 at the latest and am rarely up before 9am - I do not like getting up. I am happy in bed with a book (morning or evening).

Maybe I'm a cat.

If you don't need to be awake early then just stop.

I just got up a few mins ago, I woke up about 10:30am and read in bed for an hour after staying up until 2am.

In the hours from 9pm-2am I made huge progress on a project of mine after struggling to focus all day. If I forced myself to wake up early I'd never get anything done.

Enjoy it. The people who are criticising you are probably just tired because they either can’t or won’t follow their body clock 😉

I’m an early riser, getting up when some of the previous posters are going to bed. Like @Friendlygingercat I really enjoy those couple of hours when it feels like the rest world (I don’t think about time zones or shift workers) is asleep. I’m knackered by 9pm though.

The exact opposite I’m afraid, sometimes I would like to stay out beyond 9pm without counting down the minutes until we can leave.

Most of the time though I’m very happy to be up with lark, drinking coffee when the world is still asleep and enjoying the peace.

When I was much younger I was very grateful for the night owls at work who always did the 5:30pm finishes, I would be there at 7:30 but left at 3:30pm so I could pick up the DC. They were happy to roll up at 9:30am.

My people!
I have recently decided the next time my dad calls me lazy as 'banter' because i, as a teenager, wanted to sleep in (SHOCK) im going to say 'thats big talk from a man i never saw cook a single meal or do a single household chore other than mow the lawn during my entire childhood'

My natural sleep rhythm is about 12am-9am, and I think my husband is similar. Unfortunately our children have not yet synced up with this, but we live in hope for their teenage years 😆

My ex constantly commented on me not getting up early enough in the morning (I am rarely in bed past 7.30 even at weekends!). He was up at 4.30, in the gym by 5am. But... every night he would be asleep on the sofa by 7. Whereas I'll be at the gym, walking the dog and then painting or reading or doing things for my small business till at least midnight.
I could never understand this.

My DH and DC are like you, OP. Whereas I am more of a pigeon 😆Neither lark, nor owl.

Read this book, it really explains how the world is built for the early people, but the late people can contribute massively, if we just let them change their timings!

Plus it's a fascinating book in lots of other ways. Especially about how our brain "flushes" itself out as we sleep. Sleep is so important, however/whenever you do it!

Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams

In this book, the first of its kind written by a scientific expert, Professor Matthew Walker explores twenty years of cutting-edge research to solve the mystery of why sleep matters. Looking at creatures from across the animal kingdom as well as major human studies, Why We Sleep delves into everything from what really happens during REM sleep to how caffeine and alcohol affect sleep and why our sleep patterns change across a lifetime, transforming our appreciation of the extraordinary phenomenon that safeguards our existence.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-We-Sleep-Science-Dreams/dp/0141983760

If it works for you, it's fine. Why do other people's opinions matter?

It's annoying to have your sleep patterns treated as a moral failing. I don't think it's hard to understand.__

Because we live with them and it's very draining to have to justify your schedule every day. I don't think early risers understand this as they don't encounter the same criticism daily.
I don't care what a stranger thinks but when it is my own spouse and they simply won't stop... it lands different.