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I used to be a night owl but switched to being an early riser in the last 3 months. I didn't intend to switch and am not sure why it happened, but here's what h
by sqs 7y ago
I used to be a night owl but switched to being an early riser in the last 3 months. I didn't intend to switch and am not sure why it happened, but here's what happened that probably contributed to it:
- Started working out 1-2 hours per day (trail hiking/running)
- Stopped reading my iPhone in bed at night, now I just read my backlit Kindle
- Company switched to all-remote (used to commute to SF)
- Had a daughter (~9 months old now, so not coincident with the sleep switch)
- Almost all of my job responsibilities are management now (previously I was still doing more IC-like work)
- Cut down on sugar intake
If you asked me 3 months ago, I would have sworn I'd be a night owl for the rest of my life. So, this is quite a (pleasant) shock to me. Posting this in case it's helpful to anyone who's a night owl and thinks it's impossible for anyone to switch.
- wenc 7y ago> - Had a daughter Not coincident, but helps a lot. Anecdotally, in my circles, the switch happened when folks had children or when they joined the military.
- milofeynman 7y agoThe largest factor was having a kid. It happens to all of us. When you have a kid, suddenly sleeping in an extra hour isn't an option anymore and your body adjusts. It's also much easier to fall asleep early after getting up early to take care of the kid!
- sqs 7y agoYeah. When she was under 6 months, being a night owl was a huge benefit because it was easy for me to do the overnight wake-ups and feedings. Now she is (crosses fingers, knocks on wood) usually sleeping pretty well through the night, so there aren't overnight feedings anymore.
- anewhope 7y agoThat’s awesome. Reminder that for some people nothing will work. I’m diagnosed DSPD; I feel like the laundry list of life changes folks tout contributes to a lack of understanding and empathy for legitimate medical issues.
- Avamander 7y agoI only have to have a kid to change my sleep, nice.
- zer00eyz 7y ago> - Cut down on sugar intake This is what does it for me. Refined sugar in most forms, and excessive fruit will keep me up at night. That having been said, I'm not productive in the mornings. I don't write good code, or create good solutions before 10 am still. Early morning have become my time to catch up on administrative work, or reading.
- jniedrauer 7y agoI had a similar experience, and starting to run was what did it. These days I wake up at 5am and run for 1-2 hours. I've been on this schedule for over a year now, and it's completely changed my life. I don't know how I used to function waking up 15 minutes before work.
- frosted-flakes 7y ago> Stopped reading my iPhone in bed at night, now I just read my backlit Kindle I think you mean your front-lit Kindle. The iPhone has a back-lit screen.
- kart23 7y agoYeah, I see way too many people watching an hour of tv on their phone or iPad in bed before going to sleep and then complaining they cant go to sleep. I find that I sleep a lot better if i put away screens for an hour before sleeping.
- pbhjpbhj 7y agoI started a new job, started walking to/from work (c.2 miles/3km each way), started IF, reduced my caffeine intake dramatically. For the first 2 months or so I was able to sleep early and wake earlier. Now I've got used to the exercise - that's my theory - I've shifted back to being more wakeful at night. Which is fine for work hours as that's flexible (but perception of early risers is that late risers are lazy, so still a little problematic). But, I'd like to shift my pattern to match my kids' schedules better.
- ldng 7y agoWhat is IC work ? Seen it a lot around here lately but have no idea what that is.
- jetpackjoe 7y agoI think he means "Individual Contributor". i.e., not management.
- thebruce87m 7y agoI concur. I used to work at a company that had IC levels for individual contributors and M levels for management.