Research Shows Morning People are More Successful
At about 10pm each night I catch a second wind which lasts until about 1am. This is a blessing and a curse. If there’s some work I want to get done, or if I want to stay up later to enjoy the evening, then it’s a blessing. If I want to go to bed at 10:20pm it’s a curse.
With that in mind, some new research indicates that “morning people” have more success, generally, than night owls.
“[Morning people] tend to get better grades in school, which gets them into better colleges, which then leads to better job opportunities. Morning people also anticipate problems and try to minimize them. They’re proactive.” (Not that evening people are life’s losers: They’re smarter and more creative, and have a better sense of humor, other studies have shown.)
Notwithstanding my issues with a 10pm bedtime, I enjoy getting up early, especially in the summer. In Seattle, the sun rises at about 4:45am (and sets at about 9:45pm). By 6am, it’s typically full-on daytime and I can really get a lot out of the day.
Can you change whether or not you’re a morning person? According to the researchers, “somewhat,” but it’s largely genetic. Anecdotally, I would disagree. I can sleep in, or I can get up early…let’s say I’m “ambidextrous”…but I can tell you that I’m definitely more productive when I start the day earlier.
I’m in the same boat, but wonder if it’s possible to help your kids be morning people?
Mark Puckett
15 Jul 10 at 9:11 am
Maybe I’m wrong, but I *think* I am more productive in the dark/evening hours than I am during the day, regardless of my wake time.
If I start early, I have this sense of watching the clock, watching to see how much time I have left until other people show up at work, or until Max wakes up, or until whatever. But if I start at 10pm, it feels like I have all night to complete whatever tasks I need to accomplish, uninterrupted.
Mark Puckett
15 Jul 10 at 9:36 am
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19 Jul 10 at 8:02 am
As far as being more productive, I think I am most productive when I get *enough* sleep, rather than based on when I wake up. As far as *feeling* more productive, I think I feel more productive when I start my day earlier, but that is probably just because I get more done before lunch
.
I would agree that your natural sleep clock is mostly set by the time you are an adult. I am not sure it is genetic (having a newborn (6 days old), I will say that their clock is definitely not set before they are born), but I know that I have always been on a pretty similar sleep schedule (don’t stay up too late, can’t sleep in, even if I want to, and can’t manage to nap to save myself), and if I deviate too much from it, I can definitely feel the effects, even if I try to “get used to it” by keeping up that deviation over time. Who knows for sure though.
Rick Mogstad
19 Jul 10 at 8:34 am