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In Defense of Late Sleepers...

Wednesday, 28 March 2018 23:10

By Kelly O'Mara, aka the "Salty Triathlete" (triathlete.com)

Every weekend, some friend texts me wanting to meet at 7 a.m. (or, God forbid, earlier) for a ride. No, just no. It is Sunday. I am sleeping and riding at a reasonable hour. Like 10 a.m.

You’re laughing. You’re thinking, “10 a.m. is ridiculous, lazy, everyone knows you have to ride earlier than that. Who does this girl think she is?” I know you’re thinking that because everyone thinks that, because we’ve all been conditioned to believe earlier is better.

We think of early risers as go-getters, hard workers. We cajole people not to waste their days, and we wrap it up in a sense of moral superiority. Studies have found those who arrive at offices earlier are perceived as better employees—even if they’re working the same total number of hours at the late risers. Built into our society is the adage: “The early bird gets the worm.” There’s no saying like, “The worm would probably be better off sleeping in.”  ...

But here’s a dirty secret: It doesn’t matter what time you wake up—the number of hours in the day doesn’t change. And if you think you’ve found a way around that fact, you’re probably just not sleeping enough. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest people’s circadian rhythms are simply different. Some of us wake up naturally at 5 a.m. and some of us wake up naturally at 9 a.m., and neither one is better than the other.  READ MORE