Are You a Night Owl or Early Bird?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around personal preferences regarding being a night owl or an early bird, exploring the experiences and feelings associated with different times of day. Participants share their routines, the impact of lifestyle changes, and the emotional responses tied to night and day.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express a strong preference for nighttime, citing the quiet and solitude as appealing aspects.
  • Others describe their experiences with varying schedules, such as working night shifts or adapting to family responsibilities that require earlier productivity.
  • A few participants mention the benefits of natural light and the enjoyment of mornings, contrasting with those who dislike early hours.
  • Some argue that creative thinking occurs more effectively at night, while others challenge this notion by highlighting the advantages of daytime for alertness and clarity.
  • Several participants note that their preferences have evolved over time due to life circumstances, such as parenting or academic commitments.
  • There are mentions of physical discomforts, like allergies, influencing preferences for night or day activities.
  • Some express ambivalence, identifying as neither strictly night nor day people, but rather enjoying aspects of both times.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express a mix of preferences, with no clear consensus on whether being a night owl or an early bird is superior. Multiple competing views remain regarding the benefits and drawbacks of each time of day.

Contextual Notes

Some participants indicate challenges in maintaining a regular sleep schedule, suggesting that personal circumstances significantly influence their sleep patterns and preferences.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in sleep patterns, productivity, and personal routines may find this discussion relevant, particularly those exploring their own preferences for day or night activities.

Drakkith
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Are you a days or nights person?

I'm a nights person. Let me explain. I *love* the night. I love the darkness, the fact that its generally quiet and there aren't many people around. That's not to say I *hate* the daytime, it just makes me feel..."ugh"...when I have to do anything during the day. Like right now it's 5:40 AM and the Sun will be coming up soon, and even though I'm not even planning on doing anything outside, I want it to stay down. Mornings...should be shot and burned. Twice. Every day. I'd rather get to work when the Sun is going down than when it's coming up.

So what are you?
 
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I'm generally diurnal + crepuscular, with the help of dark glasses. I like the day, but not too bright.

With respect to crepuscular - "special classes of crepuscular behaviour include matutinal (or "matinal") and vespertine, denoting species active only in the dawn or only in the dusk, respectively." Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepuscular

If I'm well rested, I like being up in the early morning while it's quiet, especially if outdoors. Similarly, I like being active in the evening or late at night.

During early years of university, I'd be active from about 0600 into the next morning. During later years of my undergrad program that changed to more active during the day, and less at night. During my MS program, I was at school during the day, and at a full time job during the evenings (1600 to midnight), then graveyard (midnight to 0800). I gave up the job when I started a PhD program.
 
Drakkith said:
Are you a days or nights person?

I'm a nights person. Let me explain. I *love* the night. I love the darkness, the fact that its generally quiet and there aren't many people around. That's not to say I *hate* the daytime, it just makes me feel..."ugh"...when I have to do anything during the day. Like right now it's 5:40 AM and the Sun will be coming up soon, and even though I'm not even planning on doing anything outside, I want it to stay down. Mornings...should be shot and burned. Twice. Every day. I'd rather get to work when the Sun is going down than when it's coming up.

So what are you?
I'm exactly like you. I hate sunlight, I wear sunglasses all of the time, I have installed black curtains in my bedroom.
 
I quite like sunlight, but I think mornings are just a mathematical fiction to make clocks easier to design.

Without any external constraints I tend to sleep from about 0400 to 1100. Sometimes that has been useful when working on projects with an 8 hour time difference between the UK and the US west coast, and "panic of the day" doesn't even start until about 5 pm local time.
 
I was a night owl until I had kids. Now I have to force myself to be productive earlier in the day. I was a lot more willing to work at night.
 
I used to enjoy working 4pm to 1:30am. Now, I get up at 3:30am and finish around 1pm.
 
If I need to think creatively, or solve a problem, somewhere around 2AM is best to do it!
 
I'm a night person just cause my allergies seem to bother me a lot less at night, and I'm able to focus more since I'm not sneezing and don't have to worry about my eyes getting all cloudy. Allegra works some, but it's still miserable.

I do have to get up cause of my daughter, but if she's not here I don't bother. They say people who are night people are depressed, but I don't agree with that at all.
 
Also work nights as well at a nursing home, and it's so much better at night than at daytime.
 
  • #10
I'm an afternoon and night person. I love doing outdoor activities so for that I prefer daylight. Also I love when it's sunny, a sunny sky can make me smile no matter what is going on in my life. I also enjoy night time, I love watching movies in the dark, looking at the starts, I love going for runs and working out when it's dark, I feel silly when I do those things in the light. I feel my most creative so for some classes in school that is helpful. I just hate mornings, but tea helps:smile:
 
  • #11
I can be a morning or night person, as things evolve. Sometimes, I'm awake quite late waiting for an opportune moment to start a wood fire. Other times, I might get out of bed in the morning and notice that the house is cold - then I put in some morning-time to warm the place back up before my wife has to get out of bed.

Before we were married, I was always a night person. I liked working night shifts at the local mill because there were fewer bosses around to muck things up, plus I earned a modest shift differential for the night shifts. With nobody at home to consider, I was happy to work nights. If you're in a mill, it's not like you are able to gaze out the windows anyway.
 
  • #12
turbo said:
I can be a morning or night person, as things evolve. Sometimes, I'm awake quite late waiting for an opportune moment to start a wood fire. Other times, I might get out of bed in the morning and notice that the house is cold - then I put in some morning-time to warm the place back up before my wife has to get out of bed.

Before we were married, I was always a night person. I liked working night shifts at the local mill because there were fewer bosses around to muck things up, plus I earned a modest shift differential for the night shifts. With nobody at home to consider, I was happy to work nights. If you're in a mill, it's not like you are able to gaze out the windows anyway.

Yep, less bosses around makes work so much more enjoyable.
 
  • #13
I'm night as well, I go to sleep when most of my time zone is about finishing lunch and get about of bed in time to get up around quarter to 9.

I'm pretty surprised there are so many night people.

...or the day people don't care to weigh in, because I don't know many night people that won't tell you all about how odd their schedule is. The are as bad as the ones who don't watch TV.
 
  • #14
_____ _____.
 
  • #15
I am definitely a day person. I like the sun, I like turning off my apartment lights in favour for natural light, I like mornings, sunrises, everything to do with a new day starting. I just prefer natural light much, much more than artificial.
 
  • #16
I'm a dawn-dusker. I love to see the sun rise and set. I'm happy to take rests in between, but as I'm getting getting older, I wonder if I really need that nap in between.
 
  • #17
Intelligent things are best done in night.
 
  • #18
kholdstare said:
intelligent things are best done in night.

I agree!
 
  • #19
Kholdstare said:
Intelligent things are best done in night.
errr... like sex?

I grown up seeing night associated with ghosts, fear, darkness, robberies, and theaveries. But, it's so nice going out in the night when streets are open, quiet, and beautiful!
 
  • #20
I'm not really a day person or a night person, but I definitely enjoy being inside when it's raining. For some reason the sound of rain through a window makes me comfortable.
 
  • #21
Kholdstare said:
Intelligent things are best done in night.

I do virtually all of my reading at night. There's a intimate solitariness that one just can experience during the day.
 
  • #22
Given the choice, I would definitely go with daytime. I feel a lot more alert and clear-headed when I'm working in a brightly-lit (preferably with natural light) environment. Also there's nothing quite like feeling the warmth of the sun on your back. I feel that it brings on a sense of ease and even euphoria. Of course, the latter is more conducive to being relaxed and carefree than it is to intense intellectual work. In practice, unfortunately, I don't always have the luxury of confining my academic work to daylight hours. In fact, more often than not, I'm working late into the night, as I'm sure is the case with most people.
 
  • #23
FreeMitya said:
I do virtually all of my reading at night. There's a intimate solitariness that one just can experience during the day.

Perhaps solitude would have been a better word.
 
  • #24
I've been having a lot of trouble trying to keep a regular schedule. I plan every day to wake up early, before 10:30am, and go to bed before 3am. And almost everyday I failed.
I guess I'm really not a morning person.

I feel like I get better sleep while I am on observing run. I like to think that I was born to be an astronomer :biggrin:
 

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