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This may be very anecdotal but might help someone in a similar predicament. After reading Why We Sleep I think I got some explanation what happened to me, but a

by seer 7y ago

This may be very anecdotal but might help someone in a similar predicament. After reading Why We Sleep I think I got some explanation what happened to me, but at least for my case it seems it wasn't really on the money. I _was_ able to make the switch from night owl to an early bird myself so it's certainly possible, though requires some effort and dedication. I naturally woke up at 10 am and didn't really like mornings, and my most productive periods were definitely 1-2am. Thats when the most exciting coding solutions seemed to come to me. Then I started going to early martial arts training. Since I wanted to go before work, I had to wake up at 7:30. For about 8-9 months it was quite unpleasant, though the training sessions themselves were fun enough for me to want to continue. But then something strange happened. I vividly remember the day I "switched". It was spring time and we just started getting our training sessions outside. It was intense enough that the guys decided to go shirtless and take in the morning sun. And at that exact moment, basking in the sun at 8am, during a demanding physical exercise I thought to myself - wow! this is so exciting, fun and natural. It felt a bit like a Chinese kung-fu movie. A very energising experience. And from that exact day I start feeling sleepy at 11pm and wake up at 7:30 consistently each day and would feel awesome in the mornings. This is I know very anecdotal, but at least I know it's possible. And the recipe seemed to be lots and lots of sun, outdoor activity and a very positive emotional feedback. This I think might be the biggest reason. Currently the most positive feedback we usually encounter is in the evening - late night YouTube / tv / internet / books / friends / family, ... even intercourse. Quite a lot of the stuff we look forward to happens in the evening. It makes sense that our bodies adapt to make us most alert when it senses we get the most bang for the buck. But if you reverse that and attempt to do the stuff you really like early, your body might adopt, albeit slowly.

_1100 7y ago
I’ll add n+1 to this anecdote. Found a form of exercise I was excited and willing to get up for, now I wake up around 5:45 every morning trying to drag my “early riser” wife out of bed to go start the day. Was a complete night owl before, and my wife was constantly reminding me that it was late and time to call it a day.
- buzzerbetrayed 7y ago
  Off topic, but if you don’t mind me asking, what exercise could possibly be exciting at 5:45? I ask because I’ve been trying to find exercise that makes me excited to get up and do it but I’ve been drawing blanks.
  - seer 7y ago
    For me personally it has always be the tribal thing - having a group that all subject themselves to an early rise helped quite a lot to power through days that I didn’t feel like it and made the good times a lot more memorable. Have in mind that 6:00am is some other timezone’s 10am. It is possible to get accustomed to living in another timezone, so thats what you’ll generally be doing - getting through the “jet lag”. How do you do it normally? Well just attempt to get into the habits of the locals and you’ll get there. You just need to find “locals” in your desired “time zone” so to speak.
athenot 7y ago
This is interesting. I wonder if a memorable experience like the one you describe is what creates a desire within our brain to recreate more of the same. Whether it's the fresh air/sun/awesomeness of communal enjoyment of the sunrise or the chill afterhours at night when all is quiet and there is that feeling that we could code for hours with no fear of disruption.

by seer 7y ago

_1100 7y ago

I’ll add n+1 to this anecdote. Found a form of exercise I was excited and willing to get up for, now I wake up around 5:45 every morning trying to drag my “early riser” wife out of bed to go start the day. Was a complete night owl before, and my wife was constantly reminding me that it was late and time to call it a day.

buzzerbetrayed 7y ago
Off topic, but if you don’t mind me asking, what exercise could possibly be exciting at 5:45? I ask because I’ve been trying to find exercise that makes me excited to get up and do it but I’ve been drawing blanks.
- seer 7y ago
  For me personally it has always be the tribal thing - having a group that all subject themselves to an early rise helped quite a lot to power through days that I didn’t feel like it and made the good times a lot more memorable. Have in mind that 6:00am is some other timezone’s 10am. It is possible to get accustomed to living in another timezone, so thats what you’ll generally be doing - getting through the “jet lag”. How do you do it normally? Well just attempt to get into the habits of the locals and you’ll get there. You just need to find “locals” in your desired “time zone” so to speak.

athenot 7y ago

This is interesting. I wonder if a memorable experience like the one you describe is what creates a desire within our brain to recreate more of the same. Whether it's the fresh air/sun/awesomeness of communal enjoyment of the sunrise or the chill afterhours at night when all is quiet and there is that feeling that we could code for hours with no fear of disruption.