The early bird catches the worm, right? Someone who is not a morning person, such as me, knows that it’s not an absolute truth. In reality, it all depends on your biological clock.
Everything in our society is made for morning people: early lessons at school, 9 to 5 jobs, public office opening hours. So, what do “night owls” do in a society like this? We face multiple struggles, of course.
Let’s talk about a few things that all “not morning people” will understand.
10 Things You Will Only Understand If You Are Not a Morning Person
1. Every morning is a battle for you
Every day starts with a challenge of forcing yourself to wake up and leave your bed. Nothing works—multiple alarms, loud ringtones, or even taking a cold shower.
Every morning is the same story: you struggle to get up and snooze your alarm clock over and over again. Which, as expected, often makes you oversleep and get late for work.
But you prefer to be late and get ready in a rush than wake up earlier. All for the sake of spending a few more minutes in the company of your beloved pillow!
2. Your brain doesn’t function properly in the morning
Okay, you did it. You woke up, ate your breakfast, and made it to the office. But even though you are physically present, you are not ready to start working right away.
Since you have to go against your natural circadian rhythm, your brain is not ready to function just yet. After waking up, you need a couple of hours to “warm up” and face the reality of the new day.
Whatever job it is that you do (even if you work from home), you absolutely can’t be productive in the morning. It feels like your brain is unable to function properly before noon.
3. You are a nyctophile
You may be wondering: what is a nyctophile? This word originates from Greek and means “a person who loves nighttime”.
Compared to the hectic rhythm of the day, the night seems much more appealing to someone who is not a morning person. There is no hurry and noise, and you can do things at your pace without being disturbed.
Typically, when you are on vacation and don’t have to worry about working schedule, you stay late. You always find something to do, and you never feel sleepy before midnight.
It just feels more comfortable and natural to stay awake till late because this is what your body clock wants.
4. If there is one thing you hate more than mornings, it is talking in the morning
Since you are very low on energy in the morning, you hate wasting a single bit of it. That’s why it gets on your nerves when someone tries to be friendly and have chitchat with you, such as a neighbor in the elevator or a bubbly coworker at the water cooler.
Early waking up is already a struggle for you, so why are some people trying to make it even more difficult?
Your ideal morning routine would include spending some time on your own in no hurry and with no one bothering you. This is how you tune into the rhythm of the new day.
5. No coffee—no life
Your morning coffee is a starting point of each day. It’s only after having a cup or two that you begin to really wake up and function properly.
If you don’t drink your coffee, you feel even more unmotivated, lower on energy, and, in general, under the weather.
Sometimes you have more than one or two cups… All for the sake of getting yourself to work and function in the morning!
6. You feel like you don’t fit into this world because everything is tailored to morning people
Sometimes you wonder why the world is so unfair to all “not morning people” such as you. Everything is made for “early birds”, so poor “night owls” have no choice but to conform to schedules and routines that are completely unnatural to them.
Yes, that’s true that morning people are lucky to live and work in a comfortable rhythm. Late sleepers, in turn, may feel like outsiders who have lost touch with the rest of the world.
7. It’s impossible for you to wake up full of energy early in the morning
Okay, you do your best to quit your habit of staying late. You try to get to bed earlier in a hope of waking up more revitalized in the morning.
But even with more hours of sleep, it’s the same old story. You struggle to leave your bed even after a few alarms and still need much time to fully tune into your wakefulness mode.
Therefore, whether you stay late at night or not, there is no way you can wake up full of energy early in the morning. You realize that your biological clock is stronger than your willpower, and this is when you give up trying to change your sleep schedule.
8. You can’t just turn into a morning person, but others don’t always get it
When you try to explain that you can’t suddenly turn from a “night owl” into a morning person, other people don’t get it. They say things like,
Come on, just don’t stay late! Why don’t you get up earlier to not do everything in a hurry? Try jogging/a cold shower/a stronger coffee!
However, scientific research suggests that a late sleeper can’t just turn into an early riser. If you wonder, “Why am I not a morning person?” you should blame your brain for it. It turns out that we are wired to be the way we are. A 2013 study found that “larks” and “owls” have differences in their brains’ white matter.
9. You feel more productive and revitalized at night, so you may have difficulty falling asleep
It’s in the evening when your brain begins to work at its finest. You suddenly have energy and willingness to do things, you come up with new creative ideas, and, in general, you have a zest for life that you lack in the morning.
From doing some housework to writing poems, you are more productive and motivated at nighttime.
So, with these bursts of productivity at night, it makes sense that you may have trouble falling asleep. You desperately need to go to bed to get enough rest, but your thoughts can’t stop racing.
Once again, as “not a morning person”, you have to force yourself into a sleep schedule that is not natural to you.
10. You get annoyed when people think that “not a morning person” means being a lazy failure
Okay, you hate mornings and prefer to wake up late. But you get really annoyed when other people take it as laziness.
Yep, it’s usually the same folks who love repeating the proverb, “the early bird catches the worm”. They seem to think that only morning people are hard-working and able to succeed in life.
In reality, anyone can tailor their working schedule to their natural circadian rhythm. Success and ability to work don’t depend on whether you are a late sleeper or an early riser.
In fact, studies show that “larks” and “night owls” tend to have different personality traits, and each type has a number of positive qualities. For example, early risers are more effective at planning, but “not morning people” are more creative.
But an even more surprising finding is that late sleepers tend to be more successful financially!
So, not being a morning person doesn’t equal being a failure. Moreover, it has some advantages! Remember this the next time you feel guilty about sleeping late. 😉
