Monday, June 25, 2012

Misconceptions about Nocturnal People

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Night owls are what we're called. People tend to associate night people with the seedier things in life: crime, drugs, people up to no good. I've even heard people say that they don't want to follow their child's natural biological rhythm if it's nocturnally based, because they would have no ability to get a job at night. When it was pointed out that the world doesn't stop at 10pm, this was quantified with: a respectable, decent job.
Dear nurses, doctors, bank bookkeepers, police officers, fire fighters, night school teachers, EMTs, paramedics, grocery store clerks, waitresses, waiters, writers (and basically everyone other than bank tellers and school teachers),

Get a job. A real, respectable job. You know, one that happens when 'normal' people are awake, between the hours of 6am and 8pm. Anything else and you're just a freak, weirdo or criminal.

Signed,
Diurnal Human

Does that list surprise you? Do you truly think less of the doctor that saves your life when you have your appendix fail at 2am? Do you disdain the firefighter who saves you from the fire caused by a faulty electrical circuit? Do you look down on the police officer that stops the burglar that would have stolen your family heirlooms?

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Of course you don't. But most people also don't bring those individuals to mind when they think of 'night owls.' There are countless articles on teaching people how to return to a 'natural' diurnal circadian rhythm. But what happens if that's not your natural rhythm? Just as people with ADHD may just be a holdover from hunter/gatherer days (the restless hunter), so, too are nocturnal people likely a holdover from days when men and women were needed to watch the tribe while it slept; to protect it from tigers and wolves. Maybe it's simply an evolved trait from the ability to break free of the sun's control.

I'm writing this at 5:30 am, on the late side of the sunrise. Meaning, I really need to be in bed. Unfortunately, the time when my mind seems most open to my muse is between 1-6am. I don't know why, really. Maybe it's the peace and quiet. Sometimes it's that part of sleep right before you slip into dreams that wakes me up. Tonight, it was discovering a colony of carpenter ants trying to invade our front porch right before bed that left my mind noisy and too alert.

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I cannot stress enough the frustration I feel when someone responds with incredulity upon learning I've only awakened at eleven or noon and exclaims, "Wow! Lu-cky! I wish I could sleep so late!" Or, even more insultingly, "You really should set an alarm and wake up earlier. It's not good to sleep so long."

Late. Long. It's 5:40 now. I'll probably fall asleep at about 6am and most likely not wake until noon. That's six hours of sleep. If you go to bed at, say, 10pm, that would mean you would wake up at 4am. If someone called you lazy or implied that you were privileged for sleeping until 4am, how would you feel? You'd probably be pissed off and rightly so!

Now, if someone wants to growl at me that I'm lucky to get six hours of uninterrupted sleep (like that's going to happen) who also has a young baby, as I do, then I'm not going to be insulted. I'm going to agree wholeheartedly. I remember my every-two-hour waking firstborn quite clearly. But going to bed at 2am and waking up at 10am (my preferred schedule) is not lazy nor 'lucky,' any more than it is for someone to sleep until 4am after going to bed at 8pm.

This is not a sleeping disorder (though people with sleeping disorders may actually be nocturnal people trying to force themselves to be 'normal'). I'm not talking about delayed sleep phase disorder (which, in my humble opinion, may just be a way to label nocturnal people unfavorably--as a 'illness' rather than a natural state, as homosexuality was once categorized)... although that at least admits that some people do not have a diurnal circadian rhythm.

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I do not feel energized by light. Quite the opposite. The longer I spend in the sun, the more tired and worn out I feel (of course, I'm also allergic to the sun--blisters, hives, nausea and worse). I feel energized by twilight and invigorated by the stars and moon. I prefer to see this side of a sunrise. That is how I feel happiest and healthiest. When I force myself into a more diurnal schedule to keep up with homeschooling activities (for the love of granola, isn't part of the benefits of homeschooling not having to stick to an early schedule?), I wear down more quickly and am more likely to get sick.

This is probably my favorite article on being nocturnal. It describes the struggles many nocturnal people face, trying to conform to a diurnal world. This one, from Psychology Today, explores the trend in nocturnal behavior in relation to IQ. And just for fun, here's the wiki on the topic.

My husband is also nocturnal, though not to the same hour that I am. His lends more toward falling asleep at 1-3 while mine is closer to 2-4 and he only typically needs about six hours to my eight. Our kids are also nocturnal, which means that my baby not going to sleep until 2-3am is not a bother to me most of the time. Since they are/will be homeschooled, they do not have to worry about catching a bus at 7am, so they can follow their natural circadian rhythms and sleep on their own schedules. And it does vary a bit through the year.

So, the next time a friend tells you that they slept until noon, don't assume that they slept for 10-14 hours (not that hypersomnia isn't quite possible, but if someone needs to sleep that long, then sleeping for 6-8 hours, as most people do, is miserable). Don't assume that they are undisciplined or lazy. Remember that diversity does not end with skin or sex. It continues into the mind. From the non-neurotypical to the nocturnal, just because we are different does not mean we aren't still quite alike in the end.
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Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Sweet dreams and... good morning.

6 comments:

  1. I love your blog. I have been nocturnal since a child and have faced the oppression of the day walkers who are the true zombies. The soft light of the moon, the cool night air, and the rare silence of the night bears a song to my heart and lifts my spirit under the black curtained nights. The stars a million eyes bearing a kind kiss of their distant touch and the slumber of the masses I escape. Perhaps one day the world shall acknowledge us and end the oppression to enlighten themselves to seeing the world through a different light.

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  2. Came upon your post after searching for "naturally nocturnal people," and cannot tell you how good it feels to -finally- find someone like me! I've had so many people try to change my natural rhythm and have even suffered deep depression, thinking something was wrong with me because I couldn't stick with a "normal" schedule. At 32, I have accepted it and honestly love the night. It is good to know that I'm not alone, and that nocturnal really is normal! Thanks so much for your post!!

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    1. You're welcome! Just because we aren't the majority doesn't mean we're not out there! It's frustrating wanting to participate in 'normal hour' activities when your body just doesn't want to be up in the day.

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  3. Came upon your post after searching for "naturally nocturnal people," and cannot tell you how good it feels to -finally- find someone like me! I've had so many people try to change my natural rhythm and have even suffered deep depression, thinking something was wrong with me because I couldn't stick with a "normal" schedule. At 32, I have accepted it and honestly love the night. It is good to know that I'm not alone, and that nocturnal really is normal! Thanks so much for your post!!

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  4. Body not only doesn't 'want' to be up during day, it doesn't function as well. I asked my Doctor about this and she agreed - it messes with the mind for us nocturnals to try to be diurnal. I got so tired of one left-handed person calling me lazy that I told her that asking me to be diurnal is like asking her to be right-handed.

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  5. I'm in med school and guess what? Some people are nocturnal.

    http://voices.yahoo.com/the-truth-nocturnal-people-183708.html?cat=5 is another cool read once you have read this blog.

    And further the 8 hour sleep cycle is also new. Only about a hundred years old actually. Before that we slept naturally in four hour chunks.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783

    So nothing wrong with being nocturnal, biturnal or other! I've been nocturnal for 36 years now. I've published a book, written three produced plays, and now am back in school. So this article is really very cool. Glad to see the voice of reason here.

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Please keep it civil and remember that my blog is not for debate. I have friends in all walks of life, so don't assume anything from individual posts! I do enjoy hearing from you, though :)