Night Owl or Morning Lark – are some of us more designed for night living?

There is growing research evidence to support the theory that some of us are biologically predisposed to late night living. “There is a strong genetic component determining whether a person is an evening or a morning type in their activity times,” says Penn State psychology professor Frederick Brown .

Chronotype is the term used to describe when one's body clock is normally active; an individual’s tendency to be a night owl (late chronotype) or a morning lark (early chronotype) is influenced by his or her genetic makeup.

While most of us are central chronotypes, with "normal" waking hours, there are going to be outliers beyond the average population: those who are exceptionally night owl or morning lark in waking hours.

Morning Larks

Early risers have an excellent reputation for getting things done compared to their less early rising counterparts. Some exceptional morning larks have a genetic tendency to wake and sleep especially early, a few even having what is known as Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome (aka Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder). This condition has been found to be hereditary, a gene having been discovered that influences this. Morning larks might not be the best people to do night shift work or late drinks networking as they are genetically predisposed to sleep too early; late night events being arguably further from their natural waking patterns than those with more regularly houred chronotypes and night owls.

Considerations for Morning Larks

• If you work night shifts ensure you have excellent strategies for adjusting to night shifts such as these suggestions by NHS Choices (try these tips in our blog post on the health risks of night work!) .

• Make sure you get enough sleep - NHS Choices suggests that most of us need around 8 hours sleep.

• Use bright light to increase alertness at work - research has suggested that that increased brightness in the office improved awakeness and alertness for morning oriented chronotypes.

Night Owls

In contrast, the night owls, predisposed to later waking and sleeping times, are obviously far more suited to night shift work. Their typical hours also give them the advantage of enjoying a later social life than their earlier rising counterparts. The downside of the night owl chronotype is that the more extreme cases can suffer with Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder, unable to sleep in the early hours, experiencing very inconvenient insomnia before that all important meeting or event that starts at the crack of dawn. Continued insomnia can lead to an increasing sleep debt and such night owls can be left in a permanent state of daylit jetlag, with growing exhaustion and decreasing performance.

Considerations for Night Owls

• You might be better doing night shift work or switching to freelancing to improve your quality of performance. Why not work with rather than against your natural hours?

• Ensure you have several strategies for managing sleep during light hours. For example, reducing stimulation by minimising light and sounds in your bedroom may reduce the risk of disturbing sleep cycles. Check out these tips from NHS Choices to manage difficulty sleeping.

• Are you limiting your alcohol and caffeine intake several hours before sleep? Being awake and alert at work is great, but if it's leading to continued daily insomnia, you're going to build up a sleep debt that has to be paid sooner or later. You might have already reached the point where you can't actually where you can't actually remember what feeling rested feels like - pay back your sleep debt when you can!

Changing your natural body clock with exercise

However, if you're worried about being permanently stuck in the role of Night Owl or Morning Lark , fear not - in many cases it is also possible to change one's body clock - shift workers manage it with varying degrees of success after all.

A study in February this year was very positive that its findings "could open up the possibility of using exercise to help counter the negative effects of jet lag and shift work"

The study found that that exercising between 1 and 4 am has no effect on the body clock. However the same study showed that "exercising at 7 am or between 1 and 4 pm advanced the body clock to an earlier time, and exercising between 7 and 10 pm delayed the body clock to a later time." It is possible to gradually manipulate your body into a new routine by consistently repeating cues to train your brain into a new time, habit and routine. Having a strategy can really make a difference to shifting your body clock routine - see more in our post on reducing the risks of night work.

One thing that often comes up with body clock discussion and fitness is the age old question: is there a best time to exercise? If you're an athlete, sure. But we would agree with the more generalist and practical advice from Runners World blog: you should choose a time when you would actually do it! We at Fitness By Night understand that some people struggle to find a time of day to exercise, let alone pick an ideal time! We provide an out of hours service to ensure that people can squeeze health and fitness into perceived difficult working and lifestyle arrangements. Want to find out more? Click here.