Posted by River1924 on July 29, 2006, at 20:23:16
In reply to Re: Don't want to be such a night owl... » River1924, posted by cecilia on July 29, 2006, at 19:17:39
Sorry, I'm not sure if that is even the correct book.
You are correct.
When I mentioned night owl in the title... I wasn't so much using an old cliche' as referring to an article I read (but can find no reference to now (OF course!)) about groups of people "larks", "night owls", and "eagles." We know what night owls are. Larks like to get up early and can hardly stay up past 9 pm. Eagles are considered ideal because they don't seem to be cued as much by external things like light, are flexible, and need less sleep anyway. (High powered execs who travel between timezones and sleep five hours a night or day or just take little naps fall into that category. Or, I work at a nursing home and third shift has all these women who work all night and then, sleep whenever it is convenient, or just nap...day after day, night after night. I don't tolerate that at all. My mental health falls apart.)
I was in Western Europe for 10 weeks about 15 years ago. I think it is a six or seven hour difference. I had not trouble adjusting to the time going there. But when I returned. It tooks weeks for me not to fall asleep standing up at six in the evening. It was very odd. I don't really understand why it was so much harder.
What all this means to say is: I think we are hardwired to some extent. I'm very hardwired as a night owl. My job and shift reflect that. I tried really hard to work "normal hours." Get up at 5:30 a.m. and be at work by seven for several months. I felt horrible the whole time. It messed me up. I'd go to work... be a zombie until 11 am, get home at 3 or 4 pm... and need a nap. (I almost never nap.) I'd wake up and eat a meal and then, it was time for bed. I never adjusted. It was just too unnatural. My body felt like I had gotten up in the middle of the night and never seemed to realize it had really got enough sleep.
I've read about people with a genetic thing who have no flexibility. They wake up at four hours before sunrise or fall asleep at a certain time (almost like a narcoleptic) and can not change it.
I have a little fexiblity. I have fallen asleep at 1 AM (in the past) and have managed to get to the gym and exercise in the late morning. I want to do that again. I haven't figured out how, that's all.
Part of it is psychological... but just part. I've tried to stay up for 36 or 48 hours. I've taken stimulants and drugs for narcolepsy at two or three times the dose but my eyes will get dry around six or seven in the morning and my body must go to sleep if only for an hour or two. For me, no matter what time I manage to go to bed, I fall into my deepest sleep about 7 or 8 am.If I had been an "eagle", I might have tried med school. (Which is crazy even if "eagles" (ie interns) can do it.) But I am who I am.
Later, sorry to go on and on... River.
poster:River1924
thread:671316
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060724/msgs/671848.html