Night People Vindicated!

Posted on Thursday, July 9, 2009 in Funny, Holistic Living | 10 Comments

Bob Wiley said that there are two kinds of people in this world – those who like Neil Diamond and those who don’t. I would argue that the bifurcation of humanity has nothing to do with Neil Diamond and everything to do with sleep patterns. Are you a “morning person” or a “night person?”

If you are a morning person (and you know who you are) you have enjoyed the favor of a society that affirms your natural bio-rhythms. School days start early in the morning. Business jobs start at 8:00. You even enjoy the favor of our cultural proverbs. “Early to bed and early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.” You adapt better to parenting very young children whose sleeping habits are more like your own. You may have suffered however, from struggling to enjoy weekend parties or evening concerts.

I am a night person. I have always been a night person. Even in elementary school, the day started way too early. As I grew older the problem only increased. As a junior in high school my 1st period teacher put me on a contract because she was so sick of me walking in late. I can still hear the sarcastic voice of my senior year 1st period teacher saying, “Ahhh Ms. Nielsen. How nice of you to grace us with your presence this morning.” I didn’t like being late. It was just so hard to get out of bed – like wading through molasses or coming out from under anesthesia.

Even my stomach rebels against early mornings. I can’t eat an early breakfast as I will become nauseated by the arrival of food to my digestive system. When pregnant, the part of me that is nauseated by breakfast does battle with the part of me that is nauseated by an empty stomach. It takes me 45 minutes to work down a bowl of oatmeal. On a normal day, my mojo has kicked in by 10:00 and I hit my stride for awhile. But between 1:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon I become basically worthless again. I yawn, struggle to keep my eyes open and to concentrate. My creative energy disappears. And then, as if by magic, it all comes back in the evening. I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed until 11:00 or so. (Unless of course, I’ve been exhausted by getting up too early.)

Morning people, in my experience, often do not understand this. They are prone to suspecting night people of defects in their character, such as laziness and immaturity. Among certain types of Christians, night people are regarded as spiritually inferior because they don’t get up early to start their day in devotional prayer, as God intended. I’m willing to bet that God would rather hear a coherent, thoughtful prayer about something meaningful later in the day than, “O God, I’m so tired. Thank you for this d.a.y… oh sorry, fell asleep. Uhh, … need…coffee… Bed…warm. Few..more.. minutes… <snore>.”

Recent studies and their publicity have been providing some vindication for us night people. Several months ago a study was released saying that people with highly creative personality types are far more likely to be night people. So we might have trouble making it to work by 8:00 in the morning, but you will want some of us in your creative brainstorming sessions later in the day. And if you love music or sculpture or art of any kind, chances are there is a night person to thank for it. This article from CNN also offers some insight into the differences between morning and night people and includes the reassuring fact that it is very difficult to change your sleeping orientation. So to my morning friends, I understand that you can’t really help it.  I will be more understanding and stifle my laughter when you suggest we meet for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. That is, if you will understand that I won’t make it until 7:45 and will still be in my pajamas.

Perhaps with all this new information and education we will all come to appreciate the diversity of sleeping and waking patterns among us. Perhaps we will stop discriminating and stereotyping one another. Perhaps we will share later breakfasts and earlier dinners to honor one another’s preferences. I envision a world where morning and night people grow in love and respect, and come together in restful unity.

What Others Have Said...

  1. Alise 07/10/09 2:14 PM |

    All blogs should start with quotes form What About Bob! LOL!

    I’m a morning person who married a night person. It has definitely made life interesting, but it has opened my eyes to the world of night people a bit more.

    Great post!

  2. Elizabeth Chapin 07/10/09 2:40 PM |

    Karlene, even though I fall into the “I Like Neil Diamond” category (I grew up listening to my stepfather sing Neil Diamond songs into the wee hours of the night ;-)) I agree with your assessment that the bifurcation of humanity falls more along the lines of sleep patterns. I am a night owl as well, and have given birth to two morning girls and two night girls - though the teenage years tend to skew that a bit!

    When I am forced to get up early on a regular basis as I have for the past 16 years since my first daughter was born, I feel I am good for nothing. I’m sluggish in the morning and exhausted by the time I should be hitting my creative stride.

    Since I have three teenagers in the home now, and one tweenager - I am seeking to reclaim my night rhythm and hopefully optimize my creativity. Nobody is demanding I get out of bed early this summer and I am going to try to use that to my advantage.

  3. Jessica 07/10/09 2:41 PM |

    This is great! I am totally a night person, and because of this I’m very thankful that I work with university students… most of whom don’t emerge from their rooms (unless they have an early class) until about 11:00. :] In previous jobs even though I was up and working as early as 7:00, I was not really coherent until about 10:00. :]

  4. Brad 07/10/09 4:04 PM |

    I am both a morning person, getting my best work done well before 10 am, AND a Neil Diamond fan.

    I never understood how giving kids more homework, and then requiring them to get to school sooner actually helps. That’s one of the reasons we chose to homeschool. We teach when the kids are “READY” to learn. Yes, occasionally, we have to force them into a learning mode, but that’s rare.

  5. Karlene 07/15/09 7:13 PM |

    Alise~ congrats on a successful marriage to one of the other kind. :o) I’m glad you got the Bob quote. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Maybe I should begin more posts with Bob Wiley. :o)

  6. Karlene 07/15/09 7:16 PM |

    Elizabeth~ I totally get what you mean about kids. I was well settled back into my routine after raising Maria (who is 14 1/2) when I had Junia last year and got knocked back into the world of sleep deprivation. I hope that you get to sleep in all summer long!

  7. Karlene 07/15/09 7:20 PM |

    Jessica~ Your job sounds perfect! What exactly do you do with students? I’m fortuanate in that way too, because I have flexible work hours and can usually come in later in the day.

  8. Karlene 07/15/09 7:25 PM |

    Brad~ Neil Diamond fan AND a morning person?? :o) I’m intrigued by your homeschooling methodology. My older daughter is a night person, but she gets up early for school without any issues. The problem is she falls asleep in her last class and is grumpy all evening long. Then she can’t fall asleep until 11:00 again. I think she’s going to spend all of high school sleepy.

  9. Samuel M. Wright 03/24/10 7:52 AM |

    The Morning People are evil aliens and their android minions, sent to Earth to make it possible for the rest of us to get a good day’s sleep. They took over the world in anciant times, creating agriculture and enslaving humanity, leaving us too tired and stressed to fight back. It is only in modern times, with globalisation, that people have been able to survive by working at night…

  10. Samuel M. Wright 03/24/10 7:53 AM |

    Er, I meant impossible. I’m not a good typist… :-P

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