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but as a night owl till my mid 30s I actually managed to flip to an early bird. Anecdotally, this seems common. Even without early morning incentives. I

but as a night owl till my mid 30s I actually managed to flip to an early bird. Anecdotally, this seems common. Even without early morning incentives. I think a lot of late sleepers become early risers as they reach their 30s and 40s.

astura 4y ago
It's called "ageing."
arlcode 4y ago
I really hope that'll be true for me as well. (still have a few years left in that age span) Each time I go to bed early and get enough sleep, I just love the morning hours and being done with the day's work while the sun is still shines is really nice. Yet no matter how hard I try it seems the temptations of the internet get me every time and with a blinks it's 3 am :( It's probably easier if you've got a partner who is a natural early bird.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  > It's probably easier if you've got a partner who is a natural early bird. It's not. You will get up early, that's true. Then you'll spend until noon in zombie mode, then you'll blow through the afternoon, all stressed, trying to desperately catch up with your work as to not have to stay late. Then the partner/family stuff, and then with the evening, comes the big problem: you now need those late-night hours even more, to unwind, to sort your thoughts out. However, it also feels bad to not go asleep with your partner together. But then, you're not really in the mood for anything and going to sleep early feels like throwing away the best part of the day. In the famous words of Admiral Ackbar, it's a trap. Ask me how I know. (Also, Admiral Ackbar doesn't know a thing about traps. It's not really a trap until you have small children in the mix, randomly disrupting any kind of rhythm or schedule you cling to in order to cope.)
  - JohnBooty 4y ago
    It's like you reached into my mind and transcribed my thoughts directly.
  - edgyquant 4y ago
    Don’t forget guilt tripped for sleeping “in” until 10am
    - TeMPOraL 4y ago
      That too. Fortunately that "solved itself" thanks to the kids not letting anyone sleep past 08:00.
InitialLastName 4y ago
One could see where there's a biological advantage in this pattern. For a group of pre-modern humans, most tasks will happen during daylight, but some (keeping watch, childcare, tending a fire) work best with someone awake around the clock. Notably, those tasks can be done by people who aren't either physically able enough (older) or mentally experienced enough (younger) to do the core activities (hunting and gathering). With older people waking up very early, and adolescents staying up very late, you can cover the entire daily cycle with alert humans capable of doing basic tasks (and alerting the rest of the group should something come up).
QuercusMax 4y ago
Yup. When I was in my 20s, all these guys I knew in their late 30s and up were all getting up at the crack of dawn to go running or other activities. Seemed like they must be very disciplined. At around age 37, I started noticing I could wake up at 6am no problem, and now I could probably get up at 5 fairly easily, provided I can get to bed on time.

astura 4y ago

It's called "ageing."

arlcode 4y ago

I really hope that'll be true for me as well. (still have a few years left in that age span) Each time I go to bed early and get enough sleep, I just love the morning hours and being done with the day's work while the sun is still shines is really nice. Yet no matter how hard I try it seems the temptations of the internet get me every time and with a blinks it's 3 am :( It's probably easier if you've got a partner who is a natural early bird.

TeMPOraL 4y ago
> It's probably easier if you've got a partner who is a natural early bird. It's not. You will get up early, that's true. Then you'll spend until noon in zombie mode, then you'll blow through the afternoon, all stressed, trying to desperately catch up with your work as to not have to stay late. Then the partner/family stuff, and then with the evening, comes the big problem: you now need those late-night hours even more, to unwind, to sort your thoughts out. However, it also feels bad to not go asleep with your partner together. But then, you're not really in the mood for anything and going to sleep early feels like throwing away the best part of the day. In the famous words of Admiral Ackbar, it's a trap. Ask me how I know. (Also, Admiral Ackbar doesn't know a thing about traps. It's not really a trap until you have small children in the mix, randomly disrupting any kind of rhythm or schedule you cling to in order to cope.)
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  It's like you reached into my mind and transcribed my thoughts directly.
- edgyquant 4y ago
  Don’t forget guilt tripped for sleeping “in” until 10am
  - TeMPOraL 4y ago
    That too. Fortunately that "solved itself" thanks to the kids not letting anyone sleep past 08:00.

InitialLastName 4y ago

One could see where there's a biological advantage in this pattern. For a group of pre-modern humans, most tasks will happen during daylight, but some (keeping watch, childcare, tending a fire) work best with someone awake around the clock. Notably, those tasks can be done by people who aren't either physically able enough (older) or mentally experienced enough (younger) to do the core activities (hunting and gathering). With older people waking up very early, and adolescents staying up very late, you can cover the entire daily cycle with alert humans capable of doing basic tasks (and alerting the rest of the group should something come up).

QuercusMax 4y ago

Yup. When I was in my 20s, all these guys I knew in their late 30s and up were all getting up at the crack of dawn to go running or other activities. Seemed like they must be very disciplined. At around age 37, I started noticing I could wake up at 6am no problem, and now I could probably get up at 5 fairly easily, provided I can get to bed on time.