Some people wake up before the sun rises above the horizon, go for a run and eat a hearty breakfast before many others roll out of bed. Waking up this early may sound exhausting to late risers, but can a night owl become an early riser?
It’s possible to make the switch, but it’s not easy, says Michelle Drerup, director of behavioral sleep medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “A true night owl doesn’t feel great when he wakes up, especially when he starts shifting this.”
A person’s tendency to be a night owl, early riser, or somewhere in between is known as their chronotype. Depending on their chronotype, people are more likely to be awake and alert at certain times of the day and more sleepy at other times.
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Chronotype is determined by a combination of nature and nurture, scientists have discovered. On the nature side, a number of genes are known to play a role in determining whether a person prefers to be awake late at night or early in the morning, Drerup told Live Science.
According to a 2019 study published in the journal, hundreds of genes are associated with being a morning person Nature Communications. These genes affect a person’s circadian rhythm, or their natural sleep-wake cycle, leading to their chronotype.
Environment also plays a big role. People tend to participate in daily activities that bolster their chronotype, Drerup said. For example, night owls feel more productive and alert at night, so they tend to exercise and socialize in the evenings. These activities are stimulating and increase the person’s tendency to stay up late.
Since the environment is a factor in determining whether a person is a night owl or a morning person, it is possible to change your sleep-wake cycle. If you want to wake up earlier, make the change gradually. Drerup recommended that you slowly shift your wake-up alarm by 15 to 20 minutes every few days over the course of several weeks, until you adjust to your ideal schedule.
Consistency is key. “This is where night owls will often struggle,” Drerup said. “They’ll start to adapt as the workweek goes by, and then they stay up late and sleep late on the weekends. It loses that momentum that they started to develop at the end of the workweek.”
Limit light exposure in the hour before bed, for example, by staying away from screens, Drerup said. Light blocks the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates circadian rhythm. On the other hand, try to get light exposure as soon as you wake up to stop melatonin production.
Avoid stimulating activities late in the evening. Instead of exercising at night, try exercising in the morning or afternoon. You may also need to reschedule your meals earlier in the day.
If being a night owl works for you, there is no reason to change your sleep schedule. But staying up late becomes a problem when you have to get up early for work and school. This can lead to sleep deprivation, which can seriously damage your health, for example by increasing the risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
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This article was originally published by Live Science. Read the original article here.