night owls circadian rhythm

Your circadian rhythm is your body’s innate sleep-wake cycle.

On the other hand, are you at your best just as others are calling it a night?

Genetics can determine your … Psychology. Morning light therapy may be helpful in shifting sleep rhythms for the night owl. Your chronotype even affects your body temperature, serum cortisol levels, and blood pressure.

Your circadian rhythm plays a large role in your sleep-wake cycle, telling your body when it's time to sleep and wake up for the day.

People see early birds as ambitious go-getters, while night owls are considered lazy. These traits … We still very much live in an early bird’s world. Some night owls with great difficulty adopting normal sleeping and waking times may have delayed sleep-phase disorder. There are night owls among us — whose whole circadian schedules are shifted later — and morning larks, who are shifted earlier. The reason light is so important is that it sets our circadian rhythm, or body clock, via specialised light sensors within the eye. For night owls, melatonin can increase at 10pm/11pm or even later, meaning many aren’t tired until 2am or 3am. Are you raring to go at 6 am with a smile on your face? The night-owl pattern is more prevalent in men than in women. Scientists at Germany's Aachen University conducted brain scans of early risers, night owls, and "intermediate" chronotypes who fell in between the two ends of the spectrum. Hardcore owls or larks have a higher risk of developing a circadian rhythm disorder, where by they stay up later and later or go to bed earlier and earlier, until their sleep pattern goes out of control. New research has now found evidence of physical differences in the brains of different chronotypes. For example, morning larks experience an earlier circadian rhythm temperature peak than night owls. They discovered structural differences in the brains of people with different sleep-wake tendencies. For night owls, however, it’s a different story—thanks to the connection between your chronotype and your circadian rhythm. This can be an issue for owls who need to be up in the morning, or for larks who need to stay awake into the evening.

Among other things, your circadian rhythm dictates your body’s natural temperature fluctuations during the day, or your thermoregulation process. If so, it’s likely that your circadian rhythm is on the faster end of the scale, making you a morning person. Night owls are often diagnosed at sleep clinics with delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD). Are you an early bird or a night owl?