Even the best online mattress will not help you wake up earlier if you are not naturally a morning person. Waking up later than others is in your genes and trying to change it could have unwelcome consequences.
I’m sure you’ve seen all those personal development books and articles that say you have to wake up at the crack of dawn to stand any chance of being a successful CEO or entrepreneur. They give examples of Richard Branson, Tim Cook and other successful personalities who are up and working hours before you have had your first cup of coffee.
To be fair, this is not just empty self-improvement talk. There is research showing correlation between early risers and more successful careers. Other studies have linked being a morning person with persistence, cooperativeness and higher goal setting.
So does that mean you should set your alarm earlier even if you are not a morning person?
Probably not.
Chronotypes
Humans are diurnal animals. We are active during the day and usually asleep at night. But there are wide variations in sleeping times among different people. Some people stay up late and wake up later in the morning while others sleep early and wake up earlier.
Many people, roughly 50% of the world’s population, are neither morning people nor night owls. They fall somewhere in between. The other 50% is split evenly between morning and evening people.
Your ‘morningness’ or ‘eveningness’ is your chronotype. It is governed by your own internal circadian rhythm.
This rhythm can be affected by a number of things including age, social behavior, environment and work or study schedule. But your genes are the biggest factor behind your chronotype. Almost half of your tendency to stay up later or wake up early is inherited from your parents.
Going Against Your Nature
If you try waking up earlier when you are naturally a night owl, you are going against your nature. You are not a late riser because you are lazy or unmotivated; it’s in your genes.
Research has shown that forced ‘morningness’ can result in higher stress levels, mood swings and lower productivity levels. You’ll be in the office working when your body knows it should still be asleep.
Your body is still producing melatonin, the sleep hormone. Not even coffee, exercise or exposure to bright light will help.
The Truth About Morning People
A lot of the research out there about morning people being more successful is mostly about correlation not causation.
Morning people are more likely to be successful because they are in sync with the world order. Work starts at 9am. School also starts in the morning. So they automatically have an edge when it comes to succeeding in careers and academic work.
But night owls have their advantages too. They tend to be more creative, imaginative and innovative. Their late sleeping hours doesn’t affect their health either. They are just as alert and healthy as morning people, as long as they get enough sleep.
Also don’t forget that not every morning person is successful. It seems so because many successful people are said to wake up early. But they are just a tiny segment of the population.
Motivation, persistence and success are not guaranteed by waking up early. These are intrinsic qualities that have little to do with your chronotype. So forcing yourself to shift to a morning routine may not get you the results you are looking for.
Shifting Your Chronotype
Unfortunately, evening chronotypes have a hard time adjusting to an early morning world. So whether you like it or not, you may have to wake up earlier.
Fortunately, research shows that it’s possible to shift our chronotypes by about an hour with moderate effort. You can try waking up an hour earlier by sleeping earlier, exposing yourself to natural light when you wake up to retrain your circadian rhythm and maintaining the same waking time every day.
To force yourself to sleep earlier, lower the temperature in your bedroom, avoid using your smartphone and other gadgets in the evening, make sure you have a comfortable mattress and avoid stimulating foods or drinks during dinner.
The more radically you’d like to shift your chronotype, the harder you’ll have to work and the more discipline you’ll need.
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