I am a Night Owl of the most severe kind. Perhaps, a vampire! I cannot fall asleep when others fall asleep. But I am no insomniac; for when it is close to sunrise, I fall asleep easily. I have genuine difficulty rising before noon. Unfortunately, the world is not structured for us Night Owls. It is ruled by Morning Larks. It is difficult for us to live in this world. Our Circadian Rhythms are not aligned with the rest of humanity. Yet we are constantly accused of being lazy and our plight is not taken seriously.
What plight, the morning person may ask? Here is some idea of it. At times, circumstances have forced me to work in a 9 to 5 type situation. (Of course, this is the case for most people, no matter what their Circadian Rhythm dictates!) Seeing as I cannot fall asleep much before 3 or 4, getting to work at 9 is, at best, challenging. I would generally have to get up no later than 7, which leaves me about 3 or 4 hours of sleep per night. Hence, I crawl into work pale, groggy, bleary-eyed, exhausted, slightly sick, and of course, late. Inevitably someone notices, I grumble something about not being a "morning person," and of course everyone else goes "oh yeah, I hate mornings too." And I think... they hate mornings?! THEY hate mornings?! In all probability, they were all comfy in bed by 1 at latest, considering most people report at least 6 hours of sleep a night. What right do they have to hate mornings!
I, in fact, love mornings. Under certain circumstances, I can push my clock back for a limited time and enjoy them.... a beautiful, peaceful time of day that I truly wish I could be awake for more often. Perhaps, if I live in the woods someday, I might be able to. I have found that if I am camping for a prolonged period, with no city noise or lights to prevent the feelings of sleepiness, I can push myself back to something like midnight to 8 in the morning. That is about as early as I can get; I could never do something like a farmer's schedule! (And still not quite good enough for a 9 to 5.) But it takes effort. It still does not feel entirely natural. And I still don't feel truly alert until after noon. And, as soon as I am out of the woods and into "civilization," I can no longer fall asleep so early. It's impossible. Even if I am severely sleep-deprived, I can at best fall asleep for an hour then wake up from terrible nightmares and general feelings of ill-at-ease. It just doesn't work.
And, in fact, even maintainting 4 AM to noon takes some effort. I have to REMIND myself to go to bed at 4. I'm really not that tired. But I don't want to be awake. I don't like being awake at 3 in the morning. It's kind of creepy that time of night. But I'm not tired. So when do I truly get sleepy? Usually around 6, as soon as it's light out. But if I push it to 6, then I either don't get enough sleep or I wake up at 2 in the AFTERNOON and really feel like a sh*t for throwing out the day... >:( There have even been times in the past when I didn't make any effort at all to maintain a schedule (during long periods of unemployment!) and what is the schedule I ended up with? 10 in the morning to 6 in the evening!! Yes folks, I slept from broad daylight well into the evening... and that's where I stayed until I got a job... it actually felt natural....
For those who still have doubts, and think it's some kind of matter of self-discipline, I offer scientific evidence. There is a name for this thing. It's called "Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome." Go ahead, google it. But, here's the rub: they call it a disorder; I call it a difference. In the literature, DSPS (for short) is actually rarely permanent. It's usually brought on by some disruption in sleep schedule, such as jet lag or shift work. There are some treatments for it like chronotherapy, light therapy, and such. But these don't work for me. It may work for a few days, then I roll back to my usual schedule. Why? Because in my case, it's genetic. Every generation of my family has at least one person like this.
The funny thing is, things like jet lag and shift work, which cause "normal" people to suffer, are wonderful for me. Jet lag is the ONLY circumstance under which I can wake up at 6 in the morning feeling alert and refreshed! (what a novel feeling!) And working nights is perfect for me. I am at my intellectual peak, and can actually get there on time! But, for some reason it is unbelievably difficult for me to find work that I can do at night. Even though there are so many morning people who suffer because of it. Why is the world structured this way? The world wants us night people to adjust to their way; but why not pick out the night jobs and match us up? Why not adjust to US? There have been plenty of adjustments made to accomodate other differences; right down to wheelchair ramps and braille. Well, call DSPS a handicap and accomodate US for a change! Why torture day people with night work?
And, speaking of torture; I read somewhere recently that sleep deprivation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay consists not of actually depriving the prisoner entirely of sleep, but of allowing only 3 or 4 hours a day; which leaves the prisoner with exhaustion, low morale, etc. but just alert enough to be interrogated! And, if you remember the beginning of my post, 3 or 4 hours a day is about what I get at a 9 to 5 job.... which means by official standards, I am being tortured!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just try doing something like living with CONSTANT jet lag. Go to bed at your normal time and then get up 3 or 4 hours later, during your DEEPEST sleep, every night. For most people, their deepest sleep occurs around 3 in the morning. It is the absolute worst time to wake someone up; even if they've had several hours of sleep they will be extremely groggy. For me, this deep sleep occurs at about 8 in the morning.
So, please consider this post a PLEA. If you are an employer, or if you just happen to work with people who somehow seem half-dead in the morning... or if you just have friends, or kids, or a spouse with this issue... then just have some understanding!! Or, if you have anything to do with administrating a SCHOOL (which is a whole other level of torture for Night Owls!)... All we ask is for the chance to work when we are at our most alert, and sleep when we are tired, like everyone else!
StrangeOne posted on Oct 03, 2006
| views: 885
Comments
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Alcarinque said on Oct 04, 2006....
I totally get what you're saying. I actually developed a case of this while in college, which spurred some research into the subject. Luckily for me I didn't have it as bad, mine was developed by bad habits, verses some people who just seem to be predisposed to the problem no matter how much they want to sleep at normal hours. I was put on sleeping medication, had some therapy and really had to make a conscious effort to sleep. While I was at my worst I didn't get to sleep until anywhere between 6am and 9am. Usually closer to 9am because I took my roommate to work every morning. My roommates used to joke that we'd never see each other because we slept at different times of the day, but it was sadly true. It's hard interacting with roommates and friends when you aren't on the same sleeping schedule as them.
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ALIENated said on Oct 04, 2006....
I have always wanted to see what my real schedule is. I
would love to stay up until I get sleepy every day and
then sleep until I wake up naturally. I think some of us
are on a schedule that fits our home planet, say a
36-hour day or 40-hour day. It would really be hard to
maintain a life if you were awake 20 hours and then slept
10 hours. Maybe it would be possible if you worked from
home on a by-job basis. I worked from about 4 pm until
1 am one time. All I did was work, sleep, and eat. It took
me about 30 minutes to get home. I would usually eat
something, and get to bed by about 3 am. I only got up
before noon if I had to go to the bank or something.
Luckily, it only lasted a few months. Most of my life I
have lived on 3 to 5 hours of sleep a night and I crash
on the weekends and midweek. I am often in a daze in
the afternoon as I face my computer screen at work.
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rmuxagirl said on Oct 04, 2006....
I know what you mean. That's how I've been recently...can't get to sleep until my mom leaves for work around 6 or so and then sleep til 12:30 or so, but at the same time I'm unemployed which is so annying (every job i apply to never call back). Sleeping pills don't even work for me, which i bet is the case with you too. Yet on the weekends I'm up at 8 am. really weird.
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Alyss said on Oct 04, 2006....
Sleep deprivation for whatever reason is no fun at all.
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missb said on Oct 04, 2006....
Strangeone, I'm so very much the same like you!
Well, maybe a tad different. I recently came to the conclusion that i actually refused to sleep at night. I only sleep when I really couldn't stand it anymore which is around morning time, when 'normal' people are awake and have started the day.
I loathe 9-5 jobs. It is sad that jobs with different hours aren't so available in the real world, except maybe working as a security guard taking night shift :)
Plus, I'm also unemployed. So my sleeping schedule is really screwed. If I want to change it back to normal hours, I stay awake for atleast 27 hours then sleep (around 9 or 10 at night) and wake up in the morning. But the thing is, I love night time too much. I love mornings too, but I love nights more. My friends have told me that I have American time zone :) Like you, I don't really get jet lagged. I really think if I live in America/Europe, I could be "normal". Well, nahh....I'll just crawl back to night time sooner than later.
Cheers :)
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StrangeOne said on Oct 05, 2006....
I'm glad to see others with similar characteristics... :)
@missb: Eh, unfortunately the jet lag works for only a week or so, and then it wears off and the sleep schedule goes back to normal! At least for me that's the case! Same for staying awake for 24+ hours then going to sleep early; I might fall asleep by 11 PM if I break night, but only for a day. The next day I can't fall asleep that early again!
Haha I've actually considered trying to be a night shift security guard for that reason, even though it's not the most intellectually challenging of jobs! But it is not the type of job they usually hire women for anyway... it's funny, I had a job recently where I started working in the afternoon, and worked till night, usually finishing after midnight. This was in an office building, so when I left for the night I was all awake and happy to be leaving work, and there was the night guard downstairs ASLEEP... sometimes with all the lights off... I was like, damn, I wish I had his job :)
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Taffy000 said on Oct 05, 2006....
I know what you mean. I have odd sleep patterns too. I have a tv show that comes on at 3:30 a.m. so I feel I must be up to supervise the DVD Recorder. I also need to make sure the television is on that channel. I could of course set the tv & turn it off but that would make too much sense.
Jet lag works for me too. I don't even bother to consider what time it is at home. I just feel energetic. Usually when I come back home it all catches up with me.
What type of jobs do you find intellectually challenging?
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missb said on Oct 05, 2006....
StrangeOne, I agree. I, too, can't keep the schedule for too long even after I break a night. Always came back to the same old. I always have problems with being late to go to work. That's really shite. The last job I had, well, I was semi-fired because of that :)
Your afternoon job sounds awesome. I wish I could find the same one. I really don't mind finishing up at midnight, for I love the night so much ;)
The sleeping security guard cracked me up :D They should have people like us working if they really want to 'guard' the place. LOL.
Cheers!
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StrangeOne said on Dec 16, 2006....
taffy - what types of jobs do i find intellectually challenging? well, anything that's not drudgery. Any job where I have to solve problems, or create new things, new ideas etc... you know, some work for which I actually have to use my brain! Come to think of it, it is amazing what a high percentage of my jobs to this point have unfortunately NOT been intellectually challenging AT ALL.... jobs so boring I think I snoozed through most of them... why did I bother getting a college degree? argh! but I digress...
hey thanks everyone for reading my prolonged rant of agony... :) missb and everyone else who has this problem - hmm, there are more of you than I would have expected! Looks like enough of us to form some kind of union, eh...? hmm...
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drifting_traveller said on Dec 30, 2006....
i have a suggestion for you.. move down under.. yes mate- live in Australia instead :D.. our nights are your days and your days are our nights.. that will solve your problem ;)
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