This theme is taken up in the July issue of the Harvard Business Review where a study by Christoph Randler, a professor from Heidelbeg, Germany, is reported. Though the study is relatively balanced, media still frames it as ‘Want to get ahead? Wake up with the birds.” (The Globe & Mail, July 24/10).

It seems it will take much more work like that of Jeanne Martinson (www.martrain.com) who frames the night owl/early bird issue in the workplace as one of accommodating diversity. In so doing, we take advantage of what both early birds and night owls have to offer. Even Prof. Randler concedes that he is a morning person and his colleague is a night owl but “we ar both equally as productive.” (G&M)

If you would like your workplace to more effectively accommodate both night owls and early birds, the presentation “Birds of a Different Feather at Work” can help you achieve this goal. More information is available at www.nightowlnet.com.

just discovered the website. It expresses the feelings and experiences

of many night owls.

Oh my!  You mean I am actually normal!? And okay?  And that some people just
really are night owls?...and just biologically made that way?  Like, it's
natural?!  And it's just the way some people ARE?

I have always felt like it was shameful!  I try to hide it.  I feel like I
need 8-10 hours sleep...but I always do better if I can "sleep in"...and
seem to need less hours of sleep the later I go to bed,.....if I wake up
"too early" I really do feel "not well" until later in the day.  I can
almost always stay up well past midnight and be very productive, easily.
But I feel guilty about it.  I feel guilty for "sleeping in late".   But I
just can NOT get up early.  Even if I go to bed early.   I wish I could just
sleep "in" without the guilt attached to it.  It feels like the whole rest
of the world looks down on someone who has to sleep "late", and stays up
late.  I almost never need a nap though.  I think it's funny how "early
birds" take naps all afternoon, yet pride themselves at getting up
with/before the sun.  I don't like naps, and usually feel worse with a nap
and not better.  When I'm up, I'm up!, for the whole day.  (Unless I have to
wake up early...then I am in a fog and hurting until later in the day).  But
doing so does seem to mess me up for a couple days.  I seem to have to take
it easy on myself and sleep and get back to feeling normal.  I do love the
sunrise and the quiet of the morning...but it hurts to get up that early.
But I do just fine if I can sleep late.  For some reason I pick up speed at
night....all the sudden I'm ready for a project, or to visit, or to go
somewhere or get something done.  I feel like I could stay up forever.  If
I'm tired, I can push myself to stay up...but it is almost impossible to
push myself to get up early.  I'd like to change.  And have always felt
guilty or that I'm doing something wrong to not be able to change.  Even it
is normal and okay to be a night owl, and even if some people are made that
way....i'd rather be an early bird....being a night owl for some reason just
doesn't fit into and isn't accepted in this world that is prideful to be
early birds.  

Kim

http://shop.usana.com/shop/cart/ProductDetails?ProductID=311.010102

Many creative and artistic individuals may have Delayed Sleep Phase and not know it. They simply know that they are very creative during the night and really prefer not to sleep until the morning. New York film maker, Alan Berliner, is one such creative night owl. The bulk of his work is done from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. His film, Wide Awake, outlines his struggle with insomnia. www.alanberliner.com    

Using melatonin or light therapy can advance a sleeping or waking schedule, however, individuals like Alan prefer to maintain their extreme night owl schedule as they feel they are more creative through this time.  A recent article in the USA Today HealthSmart Weekend magazine (June 18-21) titled “Inspired at Night” features Alan.

A good strategy is to review the program agenda in advance and decide which sessions or speakers are on your priority list. There may be a critical session at 7:30 a.m. and you’ll have to do what’s necessary to make sure you’re awake and there on time. On the other mornings, you can choose to sleep, wake later and take in the later sessions.

This strategy will ensure that you’re rested and better able to learn and network.

An article by Jeanne Martinson in Convene, a magazine of the meeting industry, addresses this issue.

Both early birds and night owls experience a body temperature high and low every 24 hours. However, early birds achieve their peak body temperature earlier in the day than night owls do. Given that we are most active and alert when our body temperature is highest, one can understand why early birds are more alert and active early in the day, while night owls do not become entirely alert and active until later in the day.

Added to this is the fact that, once they are awake, early birds experience a rapid increase in body temperature and then maintain somewhat of a plateau during the day with a somewhat smaller increase in temperature early in the evening. Body temperature in night owls, on the other hand, increases very gradually from the time of waking throughout the day until a peak is reached later in the evening. For this reason, night owls are usually very slow to get going in the morning, but as their temperature continues to rise throughout the day, they continue to become more and more active and alert.

Early birds reach their peak body temperature early in the evening and then experience a rapid decline. For this reason, they are not alert later in the evening and usually want to sleep. The body temperature in night owls, however, remains high, and does not peak until about an hour after the early birds have reached their peak body temperature. Night owls are, therefore, able to be alert and keep functioning much later into the night.

Throughout the day, the body temperature of night owls is generally lower than that of early birds, though the peak body temperature achieved by both groups tends to be about the same.

Human beings, however, are very flexible organisms and can often overcome natural physiological needs and behaviours. This is the case for night owls who must get up early every morning to go to work. They temporarily overcome their physiological need for sleep and attempt to get on with their daily tasks. In some cases, one might even believe that they were early birds. Early birds, on the other hand, who are required to work late into the night overcome their need for sleep early in the evening, and one might think that they were night owls.

But this ability to be flexible is deceiving. Night owls and early birds who are on schedules other than their preferred ones over a long period of time, will become chronically sleep-deprived and may experience a variety of physical and emotional problems.

Our natural night owl or early bird characteristics can also become accentuated by lifestyle or environmental conditions. Night owls who are musicians or who work in late-night restaurants often find that their bedtime gets extended later and later so that they become even more extreme night owls than they would naturally be. Early birds who work in early morning radio or television find, on the other hand, that they must rise even earlier than they normally would and must go to bed very early in the evening. As a result, they become even more extreme early birds.

But all of this suggests only degrees of adjustment of our natural characteristics and not an actual change. Consider this analogy. If you have dark hair and would prefer to be a blond, you can dye your hair or buy a blond wig. On the surface, you appear to have blond hair, but this is a temporary situation. It does not change the fact that your natural hair color is dark.

So, too, with our biological rhythms. We can temporarily overcome them, but we do not change them. Where there are no other extenuating circumstances or conditions, we will revert to our natural tendencies. This is most readily seen with night owls who will resume sleeping later in the morning during the weekend or when they are on vacation.

“I have to admit I look down on people who go to bed at 9 o’clock at night. I don’t think they’re lazy. I just think “Nine o’clock at night! Get real! You’re missing half your life!” (NO)Cindy

(Early birds) run the world. We have to fit in. Most of those people are imposing their lifestyle on us. Leave me alone and let me do my own thing and quit passing judgment on my life and my performance.” (NO)Kathy

“I have friends that get up at 6 o’clock in the morning and I go “Why do you have to be up at 6 o’clock in the morning?” and they go “Oh, it’s a great time of the day!” Well, if that’s all you’re up for, just to see the sun come up…. To me it’s a waste of time to get up that early just to get ready for a day.” (NO)Neil

In spite of holding less than charitable views about early birds, night owls do perceive both advantages and disadvantages in being an early bird. The perceived advantages are particularly related to finding it easier to get up in the morning and enjoying what the morning has to offer.

“Sometimes, I think “Well, if I got up early, then I would have all that time and I would do all those things and still have all the rest of the day to go.” Early birds have that advantage because by the time I get going, it’s afternoon and much of the day is over.” (NO)Teresa

“When I do get up early in the morning, especially at the lake, it is beautiful, and I’m thinking “Gosh, I’m missing half the day.” So I think they have that over us.” (NO)Rose

Most of the perceived disadvantages are seen to be related to missing out on the nighttime, a time in which night owls glory.

“I think there’s a lot of disadvantages to being an early bird. You have to go to bed at 9 o’clock at night. They’re tired early in the evening. They miss out on a lot of life. If they do socialize, then they’re very tired the next day, so they probably pay for it.” (NO)Cindy

Another night owl, while not perceiving any disadvantages in being an early bird, does, however, sympathize with a situation early birds often find themselves in.

“I think it would be hard for them to understand a night owl. For them to be up early and want to be able to do things and things are not happening, – to get up and be waiting for their spouse or their friend before they can even phone them in the morning. Things like that. To me that would be really frustrating.” (NO)Darcy

Though night owls are often thought to sleep longer than usual, night owls often have the same view of early birds who go to bed relatively early. This was indicated by Alice, who is an early bird with a husband who does not share the same schedule.

“He thinks I need too much sleep.” (EB)Alice

“My roommates, when I was single, would think that it was weird that I went to bed at 5:00 (in the morning.)” (NO)Barb

There is also a belief that if someone has trouble getting up in the morning that something is wrong with them.

“My sister would always say “You’re sleeping half your life away.” They didn’t think it was normal, since I was the only one in the family that would be up those late odd hours. My Mom joked around saying I had some sleeping sickness or something.” (NO)Neil

“I can’t relate to getting tired until 2 o’clock in the morning. If you’re up at 7 in the morning and working all day, why aren’t you tired at 11 o’clock (at night)? I can’t understand it. They should be doing some exercise or doing some crosswords to get tired.” (EB)Catherine

As night owls envy some of the aspects of being an early bird, so, too, early birds recognize that there is some advantage to being a night owl.

“I’m a bit jealous because I wish that I could stay up.” (EB)Alice

Early birds also have some sympathy for night owls, but this is just in a general sense and certainly does not extend to the workplace.

“I would say that they have a problem getting to places first thing in the morning, because my husband is constantly late. They can’t get up and get moving. ” (EB)Anne

“Everything is closed when night owls would want to do something. They would have to get up when they’re tired if they want to get anything done.” (EB)Catherine