What Makes Some People ‘Night Owls’ and Others ‘Early Birds’?

Imagine your body has a little clock inside it that tells you when to be sleepy and when to be awake. Some people’s clocks are set to stay up late and wake up later, making them night owls. Others’ clocks tell them to go to bed early and wake up with the sun, they’re early birds. This little clock is called your circadian rhythm, and it's affected by things like light and how much you sleep.

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Examples

A night owl stays up until midnight and feels most awake in the evening, while an early bird goes to bed at 9 p. m. and wakes up at 6 a. m.
Some people are like night owls, they can't sleep before midnight but wake up easily by 8 a. m.
Early birds are more like morning people who feel ready for the day as soon as it gets light outside.

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Categories: Health · sleep,circadian rhythm,biology