Any Night Owls?

[zooma]

Even before I found Ray/RPF I've been trying to force myself to go to bed earlier and get up earlier because it is standard 'healthy' advice. But the thing is, when it's in my control - which has been fairly often recently - I can't help being a night owl. I'm much happier, more productive and it feels natural to me.

I can't find much from Ray on this. I assume that he would favour an earlier schedule because you will get more light, but I'm going to be inside a lot of the time anyway and where I live we aren't blessed with the sun all that often.

Any personal experience or anything from Ray would be much appreciated. I haven't had any real look at mainstream stuff because I'm sure that any studies are skewed by other factors (I would guess night owls are more likely to have other issues), but I may be wrong.

:)

 

[Brian]

I tend be a Night owl when I don't get a few hours of morning sun or eat enough earlier in the day. When I do my body forces me to go into deep sleep around 10-11 PM. I also noticed this effect even more pronounced when I started supplementing just 1-5 mg of DHEA per day, so I think think chronically high cortisol or a poorly regulated circadian cortisol rhythm is likely the reason for the "Night Owl" syndrome.

 

[mt_dreams]

For the past 15-20 years I've been going to bed around 2 am. The only days I go to sleep before 2 is if I know I have to wake up with the rest of the city for whatever reason. I feel the most at peace when the city dies down after 10, not to mention the smile I have while I lie in bed after waking b/w 9 & 10 knowing most of the slaves are already busy at work/school.

Even if I go to sleep early & wake up early for an entire week, once I know I don't have to wake up early the next day, I will revert back to going to sleep around 2.
I don't like using an alarm clock, so I only use when I have to wake up early. Any attempt to go to sleep early will not work unless I know I will be forced to wake up the next day. I end up just lying in bed, so these days I don't fight my body's preferred sleep/wake sched.

 

[zooma]

post 105981 tend be a Night owl when I don't get a few hours of morning sun. When I do my body forces me to go into deep sleep around 10-11 PM.

Agreed. When i'm on holiday in very sunny countries i naturally feel tired earlier. But I'm not sure what to do without living somewhere like that. I have tried going for a walk in the mornings, but it doesn't seem to have any effect.

@mt_dreams 100% agree with all of that, I am the exact same.

 

[frankfranks]

Light exposure definitely matters a ton. I don't think it's possible to be mostly inside with poor light exposure and feel good in the long run. You need the morning sun poring in to wake you up. You need a good amount of daytime sun. I don't think the crap about blue light at night and orange glasses matters at all. It's entirely about being outside during the daylight.

I have recently repeatedly worked days where I'm stuck in zero natural light without windows and had the experience of "in my gut" feeling like it must be darkly overcast and cold outside. Yet when I got out at around 5:30 PM the sunshine was streaming and the sky was clear. And almost instantly my mood dramatically improved.

I feel like I made much of the money I have on account of being willing to be caged inside. As I age I find more and more that's that it's impossible to feel good and be mostly inside. We are built like any other animal to be outside most of the time.

As a white man I have felt in tropical climates like my DNA is telling me that something is off. The steely gray skies of the winter North Atlantic definitely feel like home to me, the problem is just being out in it enough. People talk about "British Weather" or moan about the Pacific Northwest but I love the maritime climate; I feel built for it. I just need to be out in it most of the time.

 

[Brian]

I feel like I made much of the money I have on account of being willing to be caged inside. As I age I find more and more that's that it's impossible to feel good and be mostly inside. We are built like any other animal to be outside most of the time.

Yeah, I think we underestimate the physiological effect of spending most of our day inside a small relatively dimly lit room. I think sun light is just one part of the benefits of being outside. A wide open view of the sky and horizon seems to have a potent positive effect on both the mind and body regardless of the time of day. My pulse will noticeably go up just being outside even on a moonless night.

You would expect a primate to get a stress reaction from being in an enclosed area with no view of the sky, like it's some kind of basic mammalian reflex. As a mammal if you can't see the sky something is seriously wrong unless you are a mole. It makes me wonder if being indoors all day is one of the most potent stimulators for serotonin production and is enough to make a pro-metabolic diet ineffective. It has been in my experience.

I would strongly recommend to anybody making unsatisfying progress on their health who spends most of their time indoors to greatly increase their outdoor time as much (and as early in the day) as possible. It may not be a cure-all, but it can only help with serotonin.

 

[moss]

post 106120

I feel like I made much of the money I have on account of being willing to be caged inside. As I age I find more and more that's that it's impossible to feel good and be mostly inside. We are built like any other animal to be outside most of the time.

Yeah, I think we underestimate the physiological effect of spending most of our day inside a small relatively dimly lit room. I think sun light is just one part of the benefits of being outside. A wide open view of the sky and horizon seems to have a potent positive effect on both the mind and body regardless of the time of day. My pulse will noticeably go up just being outside even on a moonless night.

You would expect a primate to get a stress reaction from being in an enclosed area with no view of the sky, like it's some kind of basic mammalian reflex. As a mammal if you can't see the sky something is seriously wrong unless you are a mole. It makes me wonder if being indoors all day is one of the most potent stimulators for serotonin production and is enough to make a pro-metabolic diet ineffective. It has been in my experience.

I would strongly recommend to anybody making unsatisfying progress on their health who spends most of their time indoors to greatly increase their outdoor time as much (and as early in the day) as possible. It may not be a cure-all, but it can only help with serotonin.

Couldn't agree more.
We were not designed to sit in a room all day.

And no surprise in maximum security prisons, inmates spending 23 hours a day in a cell go stir crazy...