There's most likely a large genetic component. I doubt I had formed many beliefs about the universe when I was only 5 or 6, but my tendency to stay up late and

There's most likely a large genetic component. I doubt I had formed many beliefs about the universe when I was only 5 or 6, but my tendency to stay up late and sleep in appeared as early as then, if not sooner. If I'm free to set my schedule, which has been possible at times, it's not a problem. But inevitably outside factors -- job, school, relationships, etc. -- interfere. That said, I find that the night does have a certain aesthetic appeal -- a sense of freedom, of wonder even -- that I find absent in the cold, hard light of day, which likely contributes to my return to a "night owl" pattern when possible.