The professional realm of society was created by and for morning people, but what about those to prefer to work in the dark? 

Most “big kid” jobs start early in the morning and end around supper time. There are people that prefer to rise later and work outside the typical timeframe though, and they struggle to conform with the understanding that business must be conducted in the sunlight.  

I can form a schedule around staying up late or getting up early, but I cannot blend the two or switch back and forth easily. My current sleep schedule has me staying up into the hours of silence and empty streets, though I quite like the idea of only a few people around me being awake.  

Going to bed so late means getting up early is not a preferrable option at the moment, and my day-to-day activities are sometimes impacted by what time I wake up. Thankfully my schedule isn’t too impaired by waking up late, but what are the consequences of disrupting my sleep schedule? 

Jade Wu, a writer for Scientific American, wrote an article about the negative impacts of going against your body’s natural desire to sleep at a certain time, or your chronotype.  

“People with delayed chronotypes (i.e., night owls) are at greater risk for psychiatric disorders, addiction, hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and even infertility,” Wu said. “It’s because we are forced to live a life of misalignment—our biology does not match up with our external demands, and this causes us to have less healthy habits for maintaining our biological clocks.” 

Denying your natural sleep schedule does not do as much good for productivity as early birds might think. Harvard Health Publishing released an article that showed that, while there has been minimal research conducted into the study, evidence shows that both early birds and night owls may have their own sleep schedule-related health problems. 

“Most studies on this topic look at patterns. There seem to be trends emerging that certain body clock patterns and health conditions run together,” the article said. “Are you someone who feels ready and alert first thing in the morning? That may be the best time to get those steps in. More energy in the evening? Then scheduling that walk for after dinner may be best. Using your body clock to your advantage may help optimize the best time to be active.” 

My sleep schedule is only seen as negative because my activity options are limited during the evening since stores don’t stay open all night. That doesn’t mean I’m unproductive though, and I hope society soon makes room for the night owls who are just as efficient as early birds.