Night owl

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A Young Man Reading by Candlelight, Matthias Stom A Young Man Reading by Candlelight (Matthias Stom) - Nationalmuseum - 23887.tif
A Young Man Reading by Candlelight, Matthias Stom

A night owl, evening person or simply owl, is a person who tends or prefers to be active late at night and into the early morning, and to sleep and wake up later than is considered normal; night owls often work or engage in recreational activities late into the night (in some cases, until around dawn), and sleep until relatively late in the day. People with Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome are often described as night owls.

Contents

The opposite of a night owl is an early bird – a lark as opposed to an owl – which is someone who tends to begin sleeping at a time that is considered early and also wakes early. Researchers traditionally use the terms morningness and eveningness [1] for the two chronotypes or diurnality and nocturnality in animal behavior. In several countries, especially in Scandinavia, one who stays up late is called a B-person, in contrast to an early riser being called an A-person. [2] [3]

History

While staying up after dark was considered a negative trait, this changed in 17th and 18th century Europe (and subsequently spread beyond) due to the development and implementation of artificial lighting: more domestic lights, added street lighting, and adaptation by the royal and upper social classes. [4] The introduction of chocolate, coffee and tea, and cafes that stayed open through dawn, became part of the new culture. [4]

Etymology

Owls, like this long-eared owl in Poland, are often nocturnal. Asio otus uszatka1.JPG
Owls, like this long-eared owl in Poland, are often nocturnal.

The term is derived from nocturnal habits of owls. [5] Most owls sleep during the day and hunt for food at night.

Characteristics

Usually, people who are night owls stay awake past midnight, and extreme night owls may stay awake until just before or even after dawn. [6]

Some night owls have a preference or habit for staying up late, or stay up to work the night shift. Night owls who work the day shift often have difficulties adapting to standard daytime working hours.

Night owls have often been blamed for unpunctuality or attitude problems. [7] Employers, however, have begun to learn to increase productivity by respecting body clocks through flexible working hours, [8] while the Danish "B-Society" of night owls [7] and the American Start School Later movement advocate more school and workplace flexibility for the post-agricultural world. [7]

Some research has found that night owls are more intelligent and creative and more likely to get high-paying jobs than larks, or morning persons. A study among 1,000 adolescents by the University of Madrid found that night owls scored higher than early birds on inductive reasoning tests, which often serve as a proxy for intelligence. [9] However, they lag behind larks in academic performance, [10] and they tend to have unhealthier eating habits, as well as higher rates of smoking. [11]

Some night owls who have great difficulty adopting desired sleeping and waking times may have delayed sleep phase disorder. Morning light therapy may help to shift sleep rhythms for the night owl. [12]

Psychology

The night-owl pattern is more prevalent in men than in women. [13] Night-owls are more likely to be single than in long-term relationships. [13] A study done in 2013 suggests that they also more commonly possess dark triad traits. [14]

Factors

The tendency to be a night owl exists on a spectrum, with most people being typical, some people having a small or moderate tendency to be a night owl, and a few having an extreme tendency to be a night owl. [15] An individual's own tendency can change over time and is influenced by multiple factors, including:

The genetic make-up of the circadian timing system underpins the difference between early and late chronotypes, or early birds and night owls. [16] While it has been suggested that circadian rhythms may change over time, including dramatic changes that turn a morning lark to a night owl or vice versa, [17] [18] evidence for familial patterns of early or late waking would seem to contradict this, and individual changes are likely on a smaller scale. [19]

Prevalence

A 2007 survey of over 55,000 people found that chronotypes tend to follow a normal distribution, with extreme morning and evening types on the far ends. [20]

Career options

Night owls tend to thrive in careers that do not require working in the early morning. People who want to work in the evening are often employed at restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, retail stores, and some personal care businesses. [21] Night owls who work the night shift may work in emergency services, in transportation, or at round-the-clock facilities, such as hospitals and some manufacturing plants. [21]

Many businesses that operate in the evening or at night need employees at all levels, from entry-level employees to managers to skilled staff, whenever they are open. For example, most hospitals employ many types of workers around the clock:

Industries that tend to be less favorable to night owls include farming, construction, education, and public utilities. Many employees in these industries start work before 7:00 a.m. [21]

Notable people

A list of famous night owls includes:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep</span> Naturally recurring resting state of mind and body

Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment. While sleep differs from wakefulness in terms of the ability to react to stimuli, it still involves active brain patterns, making it more reactive than a coma or disorders of consciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circadian rhythm</span> Natural internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle

A circadian rhythm, or circadian cycle, is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours. Circadian rhythms can refer to any process that originates within an organism and responds to the environment. Circadian rhythms are regulated by a circadian clock whose primary function is to rhythmically co-ordinate biological processes so they occur at the correct time to maximize the fitness of an individual. Circadian rhythms have been widely observed in animals, plants, fungi and cyanobacteria and there is evidence that they evolved independently in each of these kingdoms of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delayed sleep phase disorder</span> Chronic sleep disorder

Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), more often known as delayed sleep phase syndrome and also as delayed sleep–wake phase disorder, is the delaying of a person's circadian rhythm compared to those of societal norms. The disorder affects the timing of biological rhythms including sleep, peak period of alertness, core body temperature, and hormonal cycles. People with this disorder are often called night owls.

Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder (ASPD), also known as the advanced sleep-phase type (ASPT) of circadian rhythm sleep disorder, is a condition that is characterized by a recurrent pattern of early evening sleepiness and very early morning awakening. This sleep phase advancement can interfere with daily social and work schedules, and results in shortened sleep duration and excessive daytime sleepiness. The timing of sleep and melatonin levels are regulated by the body's central circadian clock, which is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus.

Non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder is one of several chronic circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSDs). It is defined as a "chronic steady pattern comprising [...] daily delays in sleep onset and wake times in an individual living in a society". Symptoms result when the non-entrained (free-running) endogenous circadian rhythm drifts out of alignment with the light–dark cycle in nature. Although this sleep disorder is more common in blind people, affecting up to 70% of the totally blind, it can also affect sighted people. Non-24 may also be comorbid with bipolar disorder, depression, and traumatic brain injury. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has provided CRSD guidelines since 2007 with the latest update released in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diurnality</span> Behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping during the night

Diurnality is a form of plant and animal behavior characterized by activity during daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The common adjective used for daytime activity is "diurnal". The timing of activity by an animal depends on a variety of environmental factors such as the temperature, the ability to gather food by sight, the risk of predation, and the time of year. Diurnality is a cycle of activity within a 24-hour period; cyclic activities called circadian rhythms are endogenous cycles not dependent on external cues or environmental factors except for a zeitgeber. Animals active during twilight are crepuscular, those active during the night are nocturnal and animals active at sporadic times during both night and day are cathemeral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circadian rhythm sleep disorder</span> Family of sleep disorders which affect the timing of sleep

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD), also known as circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (CRSWD), are a family of sleep disorders which affect the timing of sleep. CRSDs cause a persistent pattern of sleep/wake disturbances that arise either by dysfunction in one's biological clock system, or by misalignment between one's endogenous oscillator and externally imposed cues. As a result of this misalignment, those affected by circadian rhythm sleep disorders can fall asleep at unconventional time points in the day, or experience excessive daytime sleepiness if they resist. These occurrences often lead to recurring instances of disrupted rest and wakefulness, where individuals affected by the disorder are unable to go to sleep and awaken at "normal" times for work, school, and other social obligations. Delayed sleep phase disorder, advanced sleep phase disorder, non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder and irregular sleep–wake rhythm disorder represents the four main types of CRSD.

In the study of chronobiology, entrainment refers to the synchronization of a biological clock to an environmental cycle. An example is the interaction between circadian rhythms and environmental cues, such as light and temperature. Entrainment helps organisms adapt their bodily processes with the timing of a changing environment. For example, entrainment is manifested during travel between time zones, hence why humans experience jet lag.

A chronotype is the behavioral manifestation of underlying circadian rhythm's myriad of physical processes. A person's chronotype is the propensity for the individual to sleep at a particular time during a 24-hour period. Eveningness and morningness are the two extremes with most individuals having some flexibility in the timing of their sleep period. However, across development there are changes in the propensity of the sleep period with pre-pubescent children preferring an advanced sleep period, adolescents preferring a delayed sleep period and many elderly preferring an advanced sleep period.

Light effects on circadian rhythm are the response of circadian rhythms to light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waking up early</span> Behaviour or productivity method consisting in waking up early in the morning

Waking up early is rising before most others and has also been described as a productivity method - rising early and consistently so as to be able to accomplish more during the day. This method has been recommended since antiquity and is now recommended by a number of personal development gurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lark (person)</span> Person who usually gets up early in the morning and goes to bed early in the evening

A lark, early bird, morning person, or an A-person, is a person who usually gets up early in the morning and goes to bed early in the evening. The term relates to the birds known as larks, which are known to sing before dawn. Human "larks" may sleep from around 10 - 11 p.m. to 6 - 7 a.m., and tend to feel most energetic just after they get up in the morning. They are thus well-suited for working the day shift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second wind (sleep)</span> Sleep phenomenon

Second wind, a colloquial name for the scientific term wake maintenance zone, is a sleep phenomenon in which a person, after a prolonged period of staying awake, temporarily ceases to feel drowsy, often making it difficult to fall asleep when exhausted. They are the result of circadian rhythms cycling into a phase of wakefulness. For example, many people experience the effects of a second wind in the early morning even after an entire night without sleep because it is the time when they would normally wake up.

The morningness–eveningness questionnaire (MEQ) is a self-assessment questionnaire developed by researchers James A. Horne and Olov Östberg in 1976. Its main purpose is to measure whether a person's circadian rhythm produces peak alertness in the morning, in the evening, or in between. The original study showed that the subjective time of peak alertness correlates with the time of peak body temperature; morning types have an earlier temperature peak than evening types, with intermediate types having temperature peaks between the morning and evening chronotype groups. The MEQ is widely used in psychological and medical research and has been professionally cited more than 4,000 times.

Till Roenneberg is a professor of chronobiology at the Institute of Medical Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich, Germany. Roenneberg, in collaboration with Martha Merrow, explores the impact of light on human circadian rhythms, focusing on aspects such as chronotypes and social jet lag in relation to health benefits.

The Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) was created in 1976 by Till Roenneberg and Martha Merrow at Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) Munich. The MCTQ samples sleep and circadian rhythm data from more than 25,000 participants.

Martha Merrow is an American chronobiologist. She currently chairs the Institute of Medical Psychology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Her career focuses primarily on investigating the molecular and genetic mechanisms of the circadian clock. Since joining the Ludwig Maximilian University in 1996, Merrow has investigated molecular and genetic mechanisms of the circadian clock as well as daily human behavior and medical psychology.

Familial sleep traits are heritable variations in sleep patterns, resulting in abnormal sleep-wake times and/or abnormal sleep length.

Diurnal mood variation or morning depression is a prominent depression symptom characterized by gradual mood improvement through the day, reaching its peak sometime after twilight. While the main form of diurnal mood variation presents itself as described, a reversed form, with a worsening of mood towards the evening, also exists. While some mood changes are generally experienced by the majority of patients diagnosed with depression, such recurrent mood instability is a consistent predictor of suicidal ideation, and may cause increased mortality. Diurnal mood variation is most strongly associated with melancholic depression, which is also referred to as endogenous or somatic depression. According to the diagnostic criteria outlined in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and The International Classification of Diseases (ICD), diurnal mood variation characterized by worsening symptoms in the early morning is recognized as a hallmark symptom of melancholic features in somatic major depressive disorder.

References

  1. ↑ Horne JA, Östberg O (1976). "A self-assessment questionnaire to determine morningness-eveningness in human circadian rhythms". Int J Chronobiol. 4 (2): 97–110. PMID   1027738.
  2. ↑ James, Kyle (1 March 2007). "Late Sleepers in Denmark Rally for Societal Change". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  3. ↑ Morris, Chris (14 June 2007). "Late risers unite in Denmark". BBC News Channel. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  4. 1 2 Benjamin Schwarz (April 2012). "Night Owls". Atlantic Magazine . pp. 82–83.
  5. ↑ "Night owl". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  6. ↑ Stefan Klein, Time (2008) p. 20
  7. 1 2 3 Greene, Gayle (2008). Insomniac . Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.  345. ISBN   9780520259966. OCLC   85817911.
  8. ↑ Klein, p. 33
  9. ↑ Nuwer, Rachel. "Night Owl and Early Bird Teens Think Differently". Smithsonian. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "IF YOU WANT TO GET AHEAD, BE A NIGHT OWL" by Roger Dobson; THE INDEPENDENT March 24, 2013
  11. ↑ Walker, R. J., Christopher, A. N., Wieth, M. B., & Buchanan, J. (2015). Personality, time-of-day preference, and eating behavior: The mediational role of morning-eveningness. Personality and Individual Differences, 77, 13–17.
  12. ↑ Laura H. Smith/Charles H. Elliott, Seasonal Affective Disorder for Dummies (2007) p. 73
  13. 1 2 Maestripieri, Dario (2014-01-01). "Night Owl Women are Similar to Men in Their Relationship Orientation, Risk-taking Propensities, and Cortisol Levels: Implications for the Adaptive Significance and Evolution of Eveningness". Evolutionary Psychology. 12 (1): 130–147. doi: 10.1177/147470491401200111 . ISSN   1474-7049. PMC   10481026 . PMID   24566433.
  14. ↑ "New Study Suggests Night Owls Have Psychopathic Traits". ScienceAlert. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  15. 1 2 Roenneberg, Till; Merrow, Martha (23 May 2016). "The Circadian Clock and Human Health". Current Biology. 26 (10): R432–R443. Bibcode:2016CBio...26.R432R. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.011 . PMID   27218855.
  16. ↑ Philip Lee Williams, On the Morning (2006) p. 41
  17. ↑ Jeff Belanger/Kirsten Dalley, The Nightmare Encyclopedia (2005) p. 83
  18. ↑ Walker, R. J., Kribs, Z. D., Christopher, A. N., Shewach, O. R., & Wieth, M. B. (2014). Age, the Big Five, and time-of-day preference: A mediational model. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 170–174.
  19. ↑ Klein, p. 21
  20. ↑ Roenneberg, Till; Kuehnle, Tim; Juda, Myriam; Kantermann, Thomas; Allebrandt, Karla; Gordijn, Marijke; Merrow, Martha (December 2007). "Epidemiology of the human circadian clock". Sleep Medicine Reviews. 11 (6): 429–438. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2007.07.005. hdl: 11370/65d6f03a-88cd-405c-a067-4afbc1b9ba9d . ISSN   1087-0792. PMID   17936039. S2CID   11628329.
  21. 1 2 3 Torpey, Elka (October 2015). "Career Outlook: Careers for night owls and early birds". U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Daily Rituals: Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, and other artists who did great work in the wee hours". Slate. 18 April 2013.
  23. ↑ "11 Bizarre Sleeping Habits Of Highly Successful People". SF Gate. 2013-11-23.
  24. ↑ "Authors' sleep patterns & productivity". shortList. 2014-01-28.
  25. ↑ Williams, Alex (25 August 2018). "Maybe your sleep problem isn't a problem". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  26. ↑ "I studied the sleep habits of some of the world's greatest writers". Insider. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  27. ↑ "New Files Show Adolf Hitler's Daily Routine". CBS News. Associated Press. 2010-10-29.
  28. ↑ "At Night".
  29. ↑ Carpenter, Humphrey (2014-03-04). J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   9780547524429.
  30. ↑ Harrison Salisbury (1992). The New Emperors. HarperCollins. p. 103.
  31. ↑ Buckley, William F. (2004). Miles Gone Bye: A Literary Autobiography. Regnery Publishing. ISBN   978-0895260895.
  32. ↑ "Authors' sleep patterns & productivity". ShortList. 2014-01-28.
  33. ↑ Rothbard, JoAnn (2000). The Irrepressible Rothbard (PDF). Burlington, CA: Centre for Libertarian Studies. p. xi. ISBN   1-883959-02-0 . Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  34. ↑ "Castro: his last battle". the Guardian. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  35. ↑ Rogers, Mary (May 18, 1997). "A Midnight Conversation with Van Cliburn" (PDF). Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  36. ↑ McKeen, William (2008). Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson. W. W. Norton & Company. p.  104. ISBN   978-0-393-06192-5. Sandy maintained the house, tiptoeing around until three o'clock in the afternoon, Hunter's usual waking hour.
  37. ↑ "FZ: Drowning in the News Bath".
  38. ↑ Cahill, Tim (1993) [1986]. Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer. Bantam Books. ISBN   978-1-857-02084-7. OCLC   12421532.
  39. ↑ Harold C. Schonberg (June 4, 1973). "Fischer's Friends Wonder if He'll Play Chess Again". New York Times . A night owl who sleeps Most of the day and comes to life in the late afternoon, Fischer often tele phones his friends at 4 A.M. wanting to talk.
  40. ↑ "The Vulture Transcript: Fran Lebowitz on Sarah Palin, Keith Richards, Her Side Career As a Law & Order Judge, and Much More". Vulture. 23 November 2010.
  41. ↑ Cain, Áine (2018-07-16). "Vladimir Putin's hard-core daily routine includes hours of swimming, late nights, and no alcohol". Business Insider.
  42. ↑ Elsworth, Catherine (2007-06-13). "Travolta turns night owl to protect privacy". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  43. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Inside Prince's Secret Midnight Outings". Antoinette Bueno.
  44. ↑ Buncombe, Andrew (2 July 2016). "Barack Obama: The nocturnal habits of America's 'night guy' president revealed" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  45. ↑ "On the Cover: Marilyn Manson". Spin. 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  46. ↑ West, Kanye (2016-01-09). "KANYE WEST Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2016-01-28.
  47. ↑ Elder, Pliny the (2015-08-29). Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder (Illustrated). Delphi Classics.
  48. ↑ Quoted in Rubinstein p. 211
  49. ↑ Jayne Ann Krentz, Truth and Dare (Penguin 2004) p. 258
  50. ↑ Hilary Rubinstein, The Complete Insomniac (London 1974) p. 19
  51. ↑ The Little River Band All-Time Greatest Hits 1990 CEMA Special Markets

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