People always tell me that the most accomplished people in the world get up super early and
workout and have meetings and do all these things, but can't I just like… keep sleeping?
Hello sleepy-heads, Trace with you on DNews this morning… is it morning?
I don't even know anymore.
Here’s the thing.
Genetics determine how fast or slow our internal clock runs and, as a result, how closely it—and
our body’s functions—align with the 24-hour day.
Harvard Medical School says, if your clock runs fast, you're more likely to be a morning
person, and if it runs slow you're a night person.
But sometimes it's just SO HARD TO WAKE UP… and that might just be part of your genes.
In a 2012 study, scientists found a single nucleotide on the "Period 1” gene, which
helps control daily behavioural clock.
That nucleotide correlates with wake-sleep behaviour.
The researchers found that the nucleotide base adenine is linked to someone being a
morning person, while it’s base pair guanine is linked to being a night owl.
So, people with the AA genotype, on average, wake up an hour earlier than people with the
GG genotype.
Another study by genetics company 23-and-Me backs this up, finding genetic markers that
correlate to self-described morning or night people.
But look, you can have genes that tell your body all sorts of things, so if you want to
be the day man, fighter of the night man -- you can DO IT.
We all have this thing called a circadian rhythm.
It’s a roughly 24-hour cycle controlled by the brain that tells us when to wake up,
when to sleep, and when other biological processes should happen in between.
It’s governed by social and environmental clues, but none is more significant than the
Sun.
Back in the day, we used to rise with the Sun and sleep when it got dark.
In either case, disruption to the natural rhythm can lead to sleep disorders, depression
and even obesity.
And it doesn’t help that our modern lifestyles don’t necessarily line up with our natural
body clocks.
Lights, phone screens, and late-night social occasions are one thing, but even with all
that it's possible to trick your body into becoming a morning person!
Basically, it's like shifting your body into a new time zone without actually travelling;
you’re effectively resetting your body clock.
Say you get to bed at 1am and wake up at 9am but you want to get up at 6am to seize the
day.
You can do it.
You just have to get over your self-induced jet lag.
Sleep experts suggest setting your alarm a few minutes earlier every day, gradually shifting
your wakeup time, and of course you'll have to go to bed earlier too; we never said it
doesn't take effort.
On top of that, you have to actually get up.
Set one alarm and when it goes off, get out of bed and find some daylight.
The daylight triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus in your brain (the thing that regulates
our sleep-wake cycle) to decreases the hormone melatonin which makes you sleepy.
If you need a reason to get out of bed, some people recommend saving something you enjoy
for the morning as a treat to look forward when that alarm goes off.
Have a morning ritual: reading, email, facebook, or the news.
Whatever it is, make that ritual part of your wake-up cycle and you'll have an easier time.
So you can train yourself to be a morning person, but if you’re not genetically predisposed
to be one, it might just suck more for you.
Though, you could be neither.
A study in Current BIology, looking mainly at athletic performance, shows some perform
better in the morning, and some in the evening -- and yet others…
are neither!
48 percent of people perform of the day!
And if you're on the road a lot, like I am, training yourself to be a morning person is
super helpful, but worrying about home security isn't.
AT&T Digital Life Smart Home Security helps keep you connected your home, so there are
no more what ifs.
Do you night people want to be day people?