Morning people are often thought to be more successful but honestly, night owls can be just as successful. Whether we work better during the day or at night doesn’t really have much to do with how we end up overall and that’s something a lot of people need to let sink in.
You can be a night owl and still be successful and you can be a morning person but still not end up amounting to anything. Success is not something that only one of the two is capable of, period. We all have biological clocks within our beings that keep us moving and some of us are different from other people which is fine.
The world’s most successful people aren’t worried about what time others wake up. They wake and work on the schedule that works for them.#MondayMotivation https://t.co/imIheRpO7Q
— Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) December 17, 2018
Life Science wrote as follows on our ‘body’s clocks’ and I feel it’s well worth being aware of:
The body’s clocks are partially driven by internal factors, including numerous genes and the proteins they produce. In 2006, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, discovered that a protein aptly named CLOCK is an essential component in directing circadian rhythms in humans, fruit flies, mice, fungi, and other organisms. Counterbalancing CLOCK is a metabolic protein called SIRT1, which senses energy use in cells. Upsets in the CLOCK-SIRT1 equilibrium can lead to sleep disruption and increased hunger. If the proteins remain chronically unbalanced, it can contribute to obesity.
Biological clocks are also affected by signals from the environment — primarily light and darkness. The SCN is located just above the optic nerves, which relay information from the eyes to the brain, so it is ideally positioned to receive information about the amount of incoming light. When there is less light, such as after sunset, the SCN directs the brain to produce more melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. In this way, the master clock directs our sleep-wake cycles.
Circadian rhythms are perhaps most famously implicated in jet lag, when passing through multiple time zones offsets your body’s clock from that of your wristwatch. “Losing” or “gaining” time during air travel can leave your body feeling disoriented, especially if it is expecting daylight when it is actually dark, or vice versa. Eventually, your body is able to adjust its circadian rhythms to the new environment. But return travel will disrupt it again, requiring another reset.
People who happen to wake up in the morning and get things going from there are not successful because they woke up early, just because you wake up early does not mean you will be the one to do more or accomplish things others won’t. You can still get your worm even if you as a person need to sleep in a bit longer. The only thing that matters when it comes to success is that when you are up and functioning that you are doing things to better yourself and working productively.
If you get things done later than most would then there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you aren’t missing any deadlines. For some people, the night shift is the best shift and well, that’s that. If getting up early works for you then do it and if waking up later is what leaves you feeling your best, go for it.
Just because you are a night owl doesn’t mean you should sell yourself short. You can still accomplish a lot. Be aware of who you are and when you work your best from there you can create a life that fits you properly and find success from there.