“Honey, if you ever want to be successful you have to start waking up earlier.”

My mother meant well, and she was genuinely concerned. Parents are meant to prepare their children for adulthood, and at the age of 17, I had yet to fall in line. Not even close. She knew I was going to struggle...

Because the early bird gets the worm.
Those who gobble with turkeys at night can’t soar with the eagles in the morning.
We might as well forget about being healthy, wealthy and wise.

3:20am Paoli Hospital

"What were you doing out walking this time of night?"

His tone suggesting that these types of sprains only occur during off-peak hours.

That’s right doc. I was asking for it.

Had I landed in the emergency room closer to 5am, he might’ve been impressed by my workout ethic… “You go, girl! Braving the pre-dawn chill to get your cardio in. That’s dedication!”

Countless nights I’d walk and wonder, why am I the only one out here? It’s such a perfect and peaceful time to be outside. You’re all sleeping? Really? Everyone?

Night owls — those of us who are more active and awake during later hours, make up an estimated 10%–30% of the population. Some of us may not get moving before 10am, or function efficiently before noon. Lots of us tend to be most productive and creative late into the night, while the rest of humanity is fast asleep.

The Sentinel Theory

From an evolutionary perspective, nighttime vigilance has been vital to the survival of the group. The ones with a delayed circadian rhythm provided protection by staying awake and alert for predators and other dangers, while the majority caught their zzzz’s.

You can bet our night owl ancestors didn’t receive so much as a thank you.

Rather, the quality of our character is summarily determined by the hours we keep. Morning larks look down their beaks at us, some even view us with suspicion.

Oh, and then there’s the health thing. Take a look at this article, for example.

https/www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/tips-to-change-your-night-owl-lifestyle

Even when calculating the impact of lifestyle choices, the authors concluded that we night types are sadder, fatter, sicker and will die sooner if we stay up late and do our work, nevermind if it’s our best work, at night.

Too bad the researchers failed to “calculate the impact” of the constant messaging we receive that there is something fundamentally wrong with us, and that we need to be different than what and who we are. And what portion of the control group included early risers? You know- the ones continually congratulated all their lives for no other reason than that they happen to rise early?

During the winter holidays I’d pre-heat the oven around midnight or so, gather the equipment and ingredients, and commence baking my family’s favorite cookies. Much of my nocturnal activity went nearly unnoticed. The only trouble was that our oven was situated at the far end of the kitchen, by the doorway into the dining room, where the thermostat was mounted. The regular sleepers in my house learned to be prepped with extra blankets on my baking nights.

My dad was the only one, aside from our pets, who accepted me just the way I was. He understood. He too was a night owl, which is why he never, not even once suggested that I “just go to bed earlier.” Some of my most cherished memories are the late nights listening to Dave Brubeck and Pink Floyd and Don McLean records together. Or just watching Cheers and Law & Order reruns with our hot chocolate and pretzels.

Now, thirty years later, there’s a little shop in Phoenixville called Insomnia Cookies- catering specifically to the needs of nighttime cookie monsters. I consider this progress.

When I do experience the inevitable off-hours sleep-shame, or have to explain why I’m still not asleep, I try to imagine a parallel universe, where we night owls set the world’s schedule. With sanctimonious delight, we remind the larks in our lives that they really need to develop the discipline to stay up later. We’ll recommend self-help apps, that we designed to break such unseemly habits as drifting off before 9pm, and hoarding worms.

In the meantime- may my fellow owls find solace knowing that the work they do in the dark of night, the duties they carry out, the art they create, and the goodies they bake, make our world safer, sweeter and better for us all.

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