 | 9 Sep 10 |
Okay, minds out of the gutter. I’m talking about biological rhythms, here. As in, are you a morning person? An afternoon person? A night owl?
I am a night owl. I’ve always been a night owl, though my parents are distinctly morning people. And not just “morning” like “oh, look, the sun is up, time to get up and go to work” but the kind of people who think that if you’re still in bed when the sun comes up, you’ve already blown half your day. As you may imagine, this did not make for a smooth childhood (through no fault of my parents, I should add).
I was the kid who would sit up and read all night. For a long time, I’d read with a flashlight under the covers, but I learned to get a towel or a rug and put it down on the floor in front of my bedroom door so my parents couldn’t see the light beneath the doorway and know that I was awake. My dad’s alarm would go off at 2:30 in the morning when he was working a particular shift, and I’d have to turn off the light and wait (not so patiently) while he showered and dressed and then left for work. If he caught me up, he’d be upset because I had to get up for school the next day and wasn’t getting enough sleep. And really, he’d be right, but at the time, I was indestructible, so I wasn’t inclined to listen. I’d wait until I heard his truck leave… and I learned the hard way to give it an extra ten minutes or so in case he sat out front, waiting to see if my light came back on. Finally, I learned (also, the hard way) to wait until I was absolutely sure he had turned the corner and had gone on down the country road where we lived. The ability to memorize the sound of a specific engine as it accelerates and decelerates was a skill I learned early on, though it’s never really come in handy since then. I can’t imagine why.
Prying me out of bed was like dealing with a really cranky, crazed zombie, with attitude. One that they couldn’t kill, maim or stake to death. They were at a serious disadvantage. I can empathize, all these years later.
You would think that I would have been able to adapt to a normal schedule. After all, I had to wake at six in the morning for school, drive there as a teen, attend (and I was an honors student and valedictorian, so I was paying attention in class… when I wasn’t reading my hidden book or talking my neighbor’s ears off). After school there were always extracurricular activities–especially dance team all through high school. Three hours of rigorous practice, then home to do homework and either talk on the phone or watch TV or listen to music until it was time for bed. I would be dragging at nine o’clock. Exhausted. Burned completely out. Lulling my parents into a completely false hope that this time, I’d conk out and stay out.
Then ten o’clock would roll around and I’d start waking back up, even without any rest. By eleven, I was wide awake and feeling creative.
It didn’t matter how many months of this schedule I had, I still would be more awake at night than during the day.
I think it’s safe to say that I was *so* not a morning person.
When I had kids, I think my parents thought that I would finally change. That I’d grow out of that juvenile silliness and become an adult–one who embraced getting up in the morning with something akin to actual humanity than the regular grouch I was, but alas, this was not to be. It drives me a little nuts when people suggest to me–all helpful like–that if I just “got on a regular schedule” my body would adapt, and I’d be able to be a ‘normal’ person.
Well, sure, I can be awake during the day and pull off a reasonable facsimile of ‘normal’. I did it for all the years of going to school and then all the years of my kids going to school, and I’m here to tell you that being “awake” isn’t the same thing as embracing the day and being truly able to function at my highest level. For that? I need the evening / night. [I also have a good surge of creativity in the early afternoon, most days, but the nighttime is the best.]
There are tons of studies out now that prove that there are genetic factors which determine what a person’s best time-of-day is–and let me tell you, I was delighted to point these things out to my parents. Things like biological clocks and circadian rhythms have become my tools for battle when I’m confronted by some really helpful person seeking to show me the error of my ways and help me reconstruct my patterns so I can fit in with the world. Ahem.
But even with all of this wonderful ammunition–with studies that suggest that “night owls stay alert longer” and ”night owls have more staying power,” etc., etc., I am intensely aware that the world is run by the dreaded morning people. (Y’all are sneaky that way.) It would have been far easier to fit into the world if I’d been a morning person, and I had hoped that my kids would somehow inherit my parents’ morning-genes… but alas, that was not to be. My husband–who is a sort of borderline night-owl–had to adapt early on to being a morning person just because of the work he does (construction), and we joke that the only way we’ll ever really spend a lot of time together is if he retires and adapts to my schedule… because even when I’m physically awake and on his schedule, I’m not there, if you know what I mean.
I’m really really fortunate in that these past few months, we’ve finally found a way to run the business so that I can have the kind of night schedule that works best for me – with the help of my absolutely beloved daughter-in-law, Amanda, who is brilliant (did I mention brilliant? seriously brilliant and well organized). I have had my best writing nights ever on this schedule, but it makes it almost impossible to do other things that need to be done in the day–like errands, or visiting family or friends, or going to lunch, or taking phone calls for anything business related. I write until about four or so in the morning, and sleep ’til ten or… on really late nights… eleven. Then it’s up and “breakfast” and trying to exercise (which I have not done consistently, and that’s my next goal). Then some phone calls or writing in the afternoon… time with my husband in the evening when he’s home… and then when he’s asleep, writing. I love it, but it isn’t an easy schedule for the people around me, and I do wish I could change enough to make it easier on them. What ends up happening is a sort of “split week” — where I have some normal-for-me long writing nights, and then one or two shorter nights where I force myself awake earlier in order to handle the other stuff that I need to do.
Which means, I don’t have a consistent schedule. And this, my friends, is driving me nuts. I wish I could figure out a really simple way to have the best of both worlds. Y’all are all willing to switch to night-time, huh? Schools at night… shopping at night… I mean, we can all take vitamin D pills, right? Hullo? Hullo? ::::crickets::::: Drats.
So how about you? What’s your best time of day? What tricks have your learned to help you cope with those times that demand your attention if you’re not in your best “zone?” Is everyone in your family like you, or are you different?
One lucky commenter will receive a $25 gift certificate to an online bookstore of your choice. Contest open until Saturday at noon, CST.
© 2010 – 2011, Toni McGee Causey. All rights reserved.
Toni McGee Causey lives in Baton Rouge, LA, and is the best-selling author of the BOBBIE FAYE trilogy. She has contributed a critically acclaimed short story to the KILLER YEAR: STORIES TO DIE FOR anthology edited by Lee Child and an essay in DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MISS NEW ORLEANS. Additionally, she recently produced an indie film, LA 308. She and her husband, Carl, are licensed general contractors and, in order to support her writing addiction, they run their own company, specializing in civil construction.
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I am a morning and night person. I usually crawl out of bed around 4:30 am for no reason. For some odd reason between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 PM I do not want to be bothered. If I am not at work the best way to overcome this zone is to bypass it with a nap. After 3:00 I am ready to interact with the world again and will stay up until midnight and start all over again the next day.
by Shanae' September 9th, 2010 at 2:08 amTotally a night person. Like now. When I know I’m getting up in 4.5 hrs to hit the gym with Stephen. Still wide awake. Get my second wind about 11-ish, so if I’m not asleep by then that’s it.
by inkgrrl September 9th, 2010 at 3:02 amHonestly I do best in the wee hours of the morning im a night owl and no most people in my family sleep normally me a few hours and im good when i have to deal with the brghts unny days and people i just tredge threw i dont think about not liking to do it i do it i get it done then i come home and get back in to my own routine. My husband and i have the same schedule but w eboth arent very social out side the house as far as other people and such
by Bevelry G September 9th, 2010 at 3:43 amI am one of those dreaded morning people. I wasn’t always but I have found as I age my patterns have changed. My only suggestion would be trying to nap during your most quiet (exhausted) time of the day. I think we should not fight our natural patterns – I just wish I could find an employer that agreed.
by Rory G September 9th, 2010 at 5:35 amI’m much like you, and though I wake up at 6 a.m. with the kids, but I’m not really awake and certainly not a happy camper. This summer I was staying up til 2 or 3 a.m. reading and writing because it was quiet- something that rarely happens around here. My husband and I always talk about how when the kids leave home one day we are going to become night owls. We shall see:)
by Moonsanity (Brenda) September 9th, 2010 at 5:53 am(don’t enter me)
I’m an afternoon person, as far as productivity goes… I get more work done after lunch.
by Shiloh Walker September 9th, 2010 at 6:45 amYou’re so funny, Toni! Count me as one of those obnoxious morning people…but I didn’t realize it until I wanted to write a book and had two small children. I usually hit the wall by nine PM, too tired to write when they finally went to bed. Then I heard Debbie Macomber give a workshop on goals, insisting that we DO have two hours in a day to write: find it! I thought, yeah, mine would be from 5 – 7 AM. Fuhgeddaboudit.
But how much did I want to write and sell a book? Much. So I started getting up at 4:45 and wrote every morning until 7, when the kids got up. At first, it was insane and impossible, but after about a week, I realized that my brain was hotwired for creativity at that hour and I could slam down a scene a day. I wrote that book in 6 months and sold it about a year later.
That’s NOT to say you can “train” yourself to change your natural body clock. I totally agree with that – but some of us might actually be ignoring our sweet spot in exchange for a “normal” schedule…and not even realize that we can work at another time. My kids are in school now, so I keep saner hours…unless I’m on deadline. Then it’s up with moon at 4:45 for me.
Great post! Now go back to sleep. xoxo
by Roxanne St. Claire September 9th, 2010 at 7:24 amHi Toni,
by Laura Griffin September 9th, 2010 at 7:44 amI am a night owl AND a morning person. The part of the day that is hard for me to function is late afternoon. I’m always dragging. I have better concentration early a.m. or late at night. Wish I lived in a place where they did afternoon siestas!
Definitely a morning person. When it’s light, I’m up, even if I’d rather not be.
But my creativity seems to peak late-afternoon through about 10 pm. I’m almost always in bed by 10 reading.
Terry
by Terry Odell September 9th, 2010 at 8:08 amTerry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
I am not a morning person at all. To quote Lorelai Gilmore’s character “Early. Must Kill Early”
But I wouldn’t say I am much of a night owl either. As for productivity, I guess LATE morning.
I think I am a bed person. lol! Quite frankly I just love my bed. I hate to get out of it and I can’t wait to get into it.
by MichellekCanada September 9th, 2010 at 8:15 amI’m both. I stay up very late after everyone has gone to bed (my favorite time to read!), but I am also an early riser. I will get really, really tired around dinner, but get a second wind after 8 pm.
by kris September 9th, 2010 at 8:35 amWhen I was younger I used to be a serious night owl. I loved working third shift when I was in college. The sleep deprivation of having two kids in two years turned me around a little bit.
Now I seem to be a late morning/early afternoon type of person. I still hate mornings. Over the last few days I’ve found there is a huge difference between waking up at 6:30 AM when my husband gets up for work (then going back to sleep) and getting up at 6:30 to wrangle children for school. I’m tired, but I’ll make it a comfortable routine. Eventually.
by Janel September 9th, 2010 at 8:40 amI feel chronically sleep deprived. The sun definitely affects me. In the summer, my eyes pop open for good around 6:30 despite how tired I am. Now that it’s a little darker, I wake up at 7 which is perfect for working days. Unfortunately, I can’t sleep later on the weekend, when I’m awake there’s no rolling over and sleeping again. I do sometimes find myself nodding off on the sofa while reading in the late afternoon, which makes me feel older than I am.
When I was a teen, 10 a.m. was the perfect wake up time and I felt refreshed. Those 6:15 mornings (which gave me 30 min., to wash, dress and eat) to make the school bus killed me.
by Anne September 9th, 2010 at 9:49 amI’m a morning person, as in I like getting things done and out of the way. I enjoy the mornings a lot. But I can get things done at night, too. But I’d rather settle down and read my book than do much else at night!
by Laura Marcella September 9th, 2010 at 10:13 amI’ve identified SO much with this post.
Like… everything. Especially: “(and I was an honors student and valedictorian, so I was paying attention in class… when I wasn’t reading my hidden book or talking my neighbor’s ears off)” <- I thought, HEY, THAT'S ME!
I'm a night owl. I have day classes and they're the only possibility. So, either way, I have to drag myself out of the bed — at least for the 75% of required attendance — and smile through the day. I do smile, actually. I'm not cranky or anything. I just feel absolutely exhausted and can't focus.
I was lucky enough to have a good schedule this semester, so, what I've been doing is: I get up in the morning, attend classes, do stuff, then come home, take a nap in the afternoon, sometimes through the night, then I'm up and running to do whatever I need to get done. Sometimes, at 4, 5am, I take a nap that lasts until I have to get up for class in the morning.
My mom drives me NUTS (I should really have her read this post) telling me to change my body schedule and that this is my fault and I don't try enough and I don't want to change… umm… no? She really thinks I like being exhausted through everything I need to do during the day?
Your blog posts are always enlightening and awesome, Toni.
by Barbie September 9th, 2010 at 11:05 amI am a night person. I have to schedule my classes in the afternoon because I am not able to think well in the morning. I also have a tendency to read until 2 or 3 in the morning so it helps having afternoon classes.
by Stephanie McCarthy September 9th, 2010 at 11:06 amToni, I swear we are twins. I loved working 24-hour shifts with the fire department, and then being on-call with the police department (even though I had a regular shift from 8-5). If I’m not asleep by 10:30, I’m wide awake at 11:00 and ready to go until 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. Then I want to sleep from about 6 until noon. My family (and that includes the dogs) are all day people and they start stirring at the plumber’s buttcrack of dawn. Once I’m awake, I can’t go back. And even if I try to nap, the brain usually won’t shut down. I have to be exhausted to nap.
I did wave at you going and coming over the weekend in New Orleans. I figured you’d be sleeping or working both times so I didn’t bother you.
by Silver James September 9th, 2010 at 12:17 pmI’m a morning person when it comes to running errands, getting work done but I get the bulk of my reading done at night when the house is still & quiet. Even on weekends when I have no obligations I tend to get up early, no later than 8am. For some reason I feel really guilty sleeping in. I’d rather get up and take an afternoon nap than sleep until noon.
Go with what your body tells ya, night owl or early bird. =)
by Scorpio M. September 9th, 2010 at 12:22 pmI am enjoying hearing about all of you, seeing the differences. I’m just now semi-coherent–wrote until five this morning.
Thank God for caffeine!
by Toni McGee Causey September 9th, 2010 at 12:43 pmNight person. It started when I discovered books early on. I was in Heaven the last few years of high school when I could tailor my schedule to all afternoon classes. I was just starting to wake up, mentally if not physically, arund 2pm.
Then, in the Air Force I learned quickly that I could get a lot more done when the “suits” weren’t around to kowtow to.
When I got out I began singing and playing guitar in bars and restaurants, so my natural nocturnal proclivities were happy (even though morning college classes killed!).
Now it’s a toss-up. I love night shoots and am just hitting my stride around 4am when others are flagging. But the real world operates on a 9 – 5 lifestyle and occasionally I’m required to play their game to pay the rent.
But I still like writing at night the best. Again … no ‘suits,’ or in this case, kids, roommates, neighbors, et al. I like the quiet and peace that comes at night, the ability to think uninterrupted. Unimpeded.
Well, as unimpeded as my thinking ever gets…
by Mike Snyder September 9th, 2010 at 1:02 pmI am an afternoon person. I am the most productive then. I hate getting up in the morning and I am a zombie if I stay up too late. Caffeine is my friend to get up and to keep going in the evenings.
by CrystalGB September 9th, 2010 at 1:20 pmI’m a night owl. I move a little slower in the morning, but do manage to get some simple tasks done. I do my best work during the afternoon when my brain is the sharpest. My brother is a night owl, too.
by Jane September 9th, 2010 at 1:30 pmI’m definitely a night owl, which is good and bad as a college student. Bad because it’s harder focusing in morning classes but good for those late nights studying. Quite a few people in my family are night owls, mainly my cousins. And to cope with mornings I usually get a good breakfast in or take a small nap to re-energize.
by Jeanette Juan September 9th, 2010 at 1:45 pmI’m a night person, too. On my own schedule, I’d prefer to do my chores (and of course, read) at night. But that would keep the family awake. I was up before 7 this morning, because I needed to be. But I so agree with your comment that “being ‘awake’ isn’t the same thing as embracing the day and being truly able to function at (the) highest level.” Coping mechanisms? Extra coffee this morning, but I hate to do that.
by GSM September 9th, 2010 at 2:08 pmI’m a night person. But no one else, aside from my sister, is like that
by Chelsea B. September 9th, 2010 at 2:11 pmI sleep from 3-7 am. Sometimes I get to sleep in until 8 . . .
I’ve always been a night owl, but when Luke was born and I started seriously writing, he slept through the night but woke at 4 to be fed. I took that quiet 2-3 hours to write because he’d go right back to sleep! Then I’d get the kids up, take them to school, go to work, pick them up, dinner, homework, bed by 11. But . . . that only lasted about a year. I started writing at night again when I was pregnant with Mary.
I’ve found that my most productive time periods (for writing) are 1-5 in the afternoon and 10-2 in the night/morning.
My mom was always a night owl, too. When I was a kid–a little kid–I got up at the crack of dawn, but once I hit puberty that all changed. There’s a reason I flunked physics and calculus in college–the classes were at the insane hour of 8 am.
by Allison Brennan September 9th, 2010 at 2:18 pmoh, I so know what you mean. I had a couple of 7:30 classes in college, when I couldn’t get that required course at any other time. For one, I really really wanted to be there, and it was a 45 minute drive to the campus, then parking/walking, so I had to leave my house at 6:30 or I was screwed. That was a graphics design class where the grades were competitive–you were literally competing against your classmates for the A. I was a freshman and the rest of the class were juniors or seniors and I so wanted that A. (Got it.) But damn, that was hard. I usually napped late in the evening and just stayed up through the night, doing the projects in the wee hours of the morning and the going to class, because if I tried to sleep first… I was toast.
by Toni McGee Causey September 9th, 2010 at 2:39 pmI am not an afternoon person and the only qualitative chem lab I could get was 2 to 4 on Friday afternoon. I must have nodded off during half the experiments. Good thing we weren’t working with really volatile chemicals.
by Dudley Forster September 9th, 2010 at 9:06 pmI am SOOOOO not a morning person. I tend to really get going about mid-morning, and even that sometimes is a struggle.
BJ
by BJ Wanlund September 9th, 2010 at 2:38 pmToni,
I was reading this and thought, “Huh? Was she spying on me when I was a kid?” I did almost exactly what you used to do: reading all night under the blankets, turning out the lights when the parents woke up and then going back to it when they left for work. And yes, I got caught, too.
I firmly believe in the circadian rhythm thing. Every night I can feel myself coming alive around 10 p.m. I get bursts of energy that make me want to write or clean out my closet. I’ve tried all my life to become a morning person but long ago accepted it ain’t happenin’. In college, I signed up for 8 a.m. classes, thinking that would force me to wake up early. Nope. I quickly dropped those classes.
I had a job many years ago with 10-6:30 hours I barely managed to make. I’d run into the building at 9:59 with crazy hair and no makeup because I’d just woken up half an hour earlier (luckily, I lived nearby). When the boss switched my shift to 8-4:30, I had to quit.
My mom told me I was born at 1:30 a.m. and was the only one out of her six children to pop out in the middle of the night. I think that explains everything.
by Pop Culture Nerd September 9th, 2010 at 2:52 pmNight owl!
by Karin Tabke aka Harlow September 9th, 2010 at 3:16 pmWhen I used to work shift work, I didn’t have a best time of day. Mornings were worst though. Now my best time of the day is afternoon. I handle mornings with lots of coffee. That helps. The rest of my family seems to enjoy mornings more than I do.
by chey September 9th, 2010 at 4:23 pmThis question is when being hyperactive (as we called it when I was growing up) comes in handy.
by Catherine September 9th, 2010 at 6:14 pmI can be any of them. I get up at 4:30 am to go exercise at 5-if I don’t exercise early, it doesn’t get done. I can go to bed at 10 and still get up early. Some days a 20 min power nap is all I need.
Rest of the family–I’m still suprised none of them have ever fallen down the stairs when they get up. The others don’t fully have their eyes open for the first few mins. Even so, school mornings are pretty calm around here. Lucky me!
My best time of the day is actually night. Around 12am-4am I’m more awake, in a better mood and I generally get more done. I’ve learned that caffiene or reading a great book helps when I can’t stay up as late as I would like.
by Ladytink_534 September 9th, 2010 at 6:25 pmI am most definitely a morning person; I get up, have breakfast, get washed up, all in about one hour, then drive to work. But come mid afternoon I start to slow down and start checking the time till finish. No tricks, just keep going and try not to stop because if I do I won’t be able to start again. I’m the only one in my family that’s a morning person, my family are quiet in the morning, not wanting conversation of breakfast and giving me the evil eye.
by Diane Sadler September 9th, 2010 at 7:05 pmI am a night owl. Have been since I was an infant and nothing could change me.
I HATE mornings, and stumble through like a zombie getting the kid ready for school. When he goes to college, I am working and writing at night.
by KellyJ September 9th, 2010 at 8:35 pmI’m a night owl I can stay up all night and feel great and then get a couple hours of sleep during the day and be ready to stay up all night again. I have four brothers and sisters and I’m the only one that likes to stay up all night they all get up pretty early. I don’t really have any tricks but I do warn people at work that I probably won’t be very friendly until around 10 or 11 when we’re on days. We work 6 weeks of days and then 6 weeks of nights and we rotate out the end of the week that we work. We work 3 days 12 hours a day or night whichever we are working.
by Sherry S. September 9th, 2010 at 9:18 pmI am a night owl myself, hubby just went back to day shift and its killing both of us. We are both night people, so the day shift doesn’t work well, but we deal with it the best we can. i sometimes even take me a little nap to catch up on sleep.
by Quilt Lady September 9th, 2010 at 10:59 pmNot a morning person. More of a evening night person lol Ah but my kids get up at 5:30 am to catch the school bus at 6:15 am. Yeah well i try not to think about it when the alarm goes off i just get up. Kind of gotta have a just do it attitude or i’d be late all the time. lol I’m tired all day and as soon as the sun starts going down i get a second wind.
Lisa B
by Lisa Boggs September 10th, 2010 at 1:28 pmI am totally a night owl! I love to stay up late; I read, watch tv, site and just chill. I love the quiet and stillness of the night. I even go outside to watch the stars.
by Lisa G. September 10th, 2010 at 1:56 pmI hate, hate, hate having to get up early in the morning but what I hate even more is the early morning calls for my mother on my days I get to sleep in.
Monday thru Thrusday I have to be up by six to babysit my grandbaby TuesDae’ which is a killer for me. My only salvation is the on rare occasions I can catch a nap with her, if not, I am zonked out by 8 pm only to be wakened up at 10 which to me serves as a power nap then I am screwed. I can’t go back to sleep when I need to, UGH!!
I wish I had some good suggestion on time adjustments but I don’t. Sorry!
My optimum time at work is from 11 to 3,but I actually work from 9 to 5.
It’s funny around 10 PM I’m ready to fall asleep but when I brush my teeth at 11, I always get my second wind then don’t go to sleep until around 1 to 2AM.
by Joyce September 10th, 2010 at 5:46 pmRaising my kids and then getting them through the early mornings of high school has made me more of morning person. The nice thing about them is that when you’re up earlier than everyone else then you get some nice quiet time to plan what you want to get done for the day.
by Maureen September 11th, 2010 at 5:34 amI’m an evening person and that fit in when I worked swing(7A-3P or 3P-11P) shift in a hospital. I still get a second wind about the time when everyone else is sagging.
by Sunnymay September 11th, 2010 at 12:49 pmMornings are tough for me. Not only do I need to drag myself out of bed, but my husband hits the snooze button about 10 times before I have to kick him out. My middle son is the only one with an internal alarm clock and is up at 6 am everyday. My two other kids I have to drag out of bed kicking and screaming. While I’m making lunches I get to endure the fighting and yelling. My favortie time is when everyone is off at school and I get a good 3 hours to drink my coffee in peace and pick up my book and relax
by Jolene Allcock September 11th, 2010 at 7:34 pm