Are you an early-bird who enjoys waking early to start your day? If you’re night owls do you prefer silence, peace and tranquility at night?

Scientifically speaking, you’re one of two types of chronotypes. The term chronotype refers to an indication of the “natural inclination of your body to sleep at a certain time.”

While researching this article, Dormeo UK came across an article that suggests that night owls generally are much more inventive over the early birds (or “larks”).

Another study found that birds who were born early tend to have more optimistic people and (possibly because of this) were less depressed than night Owls.

What’s an early bird’, or night owl?

While both phrases are popular, research suggests while more women are portrayed as larks and males as owls three out of ten of us could be classified as extreme owls’ or the larks’.

The majority of us will likely be inclined to favor one side or the other, but are more likely to adjust.

The question is, then, what is the reason? What is it that makes some people ready to go at 6am while others energized by 1am the next morning?

In the case of most sleep-related things it’s likely to come down to your individual circadian rhythm. Humans (and numerous other species) are designed to have a 24-hour hour circadian rhythm that is tied into the Earth’s 24 hour cycle. It is apparent that some people have a more prolonged rhythm (night Owls) and others have having a shorter one (early bird species).

While each person’s individual rhythm may alter over time (i.e. there isn’t a lot of teenager who is a lark, and the majority of people tend to be more larkish after having children, even if they complain about it) studies suggest that the habit of early rise or having a party late into the night could be inherited, just like your eye colour or hair.

It’s worth noting that some experts think the term “night owl” to be a bit misleading, and prefer to refer to ‘evening persons’.

The research proves that no matter what, human beings are constructed to perform most efficiently during daylight hours and regardless of what, the brain’s signal to sleep is that darkness signals it’s time for sleep.

There is no doubt, however that “early bird” or “owl traits can affect various aspects of our lives…you might not even realize it.

Are you a morning person or a night-owl?

They’ll decide everything from when we should consume our meals, the times we are at our most alert and do our best work, and the time we have the best quality of sleep.

It’s unlikely that a young bird would want to work in a nightclub, for instance, and an Owl isn’t likely to be the most effective milkman, or postal worker.

Research suggests that we could be more productive overall if could get our lives more in tune with our personal rhythm. The conclusion is that night owls may be at risk of suffering from sleep loss when they are forced to follow a 9-5pm working schedule.

The availability of more flexible hours can assist however the good news is that unless an extreme late bird, or an owl there are simple steps you can take to make it easier for you to fit into the early bird or the owl camp.

Night Owl to Early Bird

• 1.) Begin sleeping by opening your curtains. The light will get you up naturally. However, you should still set an alarm to ensure you’re secure!
• 2.) Owls are known to delay things to the last minute. Make sure that everything you require for the next day ready the night prior to. This means you should decide ahead of time what you’ll be eating for breakfast, and then decide the clothes you’ll wear.

Early Bird to Night Owl

• 1) Spending some time outside in the evening should help you stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning.
• 2) Make your bedroom as dark as possible when you do go to bed to avoid being woken by the natural light of the early morning.

It’s worth noting that hounding the owl early in the morning is not likely to be received positively.

Also, inflicting a rash of chatter at 10pm is at a minimum, likely to be greeted with apathy or, at worst, provoke arguments.. If they’re willing to engage in one.

Quality Sleep

Of course, a good quality sleep is essential regardless of whether you’re an owl, a lark or someplace in between.