Benjamin Franklin once said “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” My younger sister, Addie, clearly lives by this, for she gets up at the crack of dawn. Ever since she was little, she always had the habits of an early riser, which the rest of my family didn’t approve of . “Mom wake up, the sun is almost up.” She would say at 4:30 A.M., to my mom who would have gladly slept til noon. Even though many would get annoyed by this habit, my eight year old sister may have been onto some astounding discoveries. Research now shows that being an early riser can have many benefits, not only physically, but it can increase one’s well being. First, we will see why being a night owl is harmful, then, why being an early riser is beneficial. Next, how people around us affect our sleep, and finally, look at some solutions to this horrendous habit.

A night owls “ prefer to stay up late and sleep in” according to CBS news titled “Night Owls and Early Birds Have Different Personality Traits” written on July 24, 2014 , although many people do it out of necessity. Whether staying up late to finish homework, or watching one more episode, many people stay up too late. Many problems are arising (no pun intended) with, teens especially, staying up at night. Teenagers need to break this habit more than other age group, because many teens stay up way later than they should. Being a late nighter can make people smart but not reliable so they are always late for school, meetings, and morning activities. Night owls are also more depressed, sleep deprived, and have higher risks for addiction and eating disorders, according to The Christian Science Monitor on November 12th, 2010, by David Clark Scott article titled “Are Night Owls Smarter Than Early Birds?” Combining the sleep deprivation along with depression seems to make individuals take more risks. Anti-early birds may be smarter, but make dumb decisions, due to their rebellious behavior. Mental Health of America article titled “ Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Depression,” says that people who are depressed, are more likely to try alcohol, drugs, and attempt suicide . Staying up late might not seem like a big deal, but when bedtimes get later, and depression hits harder, they will find themselves in extreme circumstances. A Daily Times article on December 19, 2013, claims that staying up late can cause “...fatigue and daytime sleeplessness, difficulty focusing, physical pain and discomfort.” For many individuals the pain might be mild headaches or not feeling the best, which causes individuals to establish a less motivated mindset. Now that we have discussed all the harms of being a night owl, let’s talk about the benefits of early rising.

Rising early can have far greater positive impacts on our minds as well as daily routines.

People who have “alarm clock” genes, meaning they naturally wake up early, are far more productive. Although it may seem impossible, individuals can break their night owl habits, and can create their own “alarm clock” genes. They normally have more time to exercise and motivation comes easier. Morning people are more creative, and happier, according to Psychology Today, on August 20, 2012 article titled “Early Risers are Happier, Healthier, and More Productive than Night Owls” by Ray Williams.  Early birds, also seem to have more time for family, because they would get the work done right away, from the morning motivation they received earlier in the day. According to a Business Insider article on December 24, 2013, article titled “Successful People Who Wake up Really Early” by Max Nisen and Gus Lubin, the CEO’s of Apple, Disney and Starbucks, all wake up early. They are motivated people, who clearly show it. Whether Apple puts out a new IPhone or Starbucks puts out a new coffee flavor, they are constantly striving to improve their companies. This morning motivation comes from waking up at about 4:30A.M. The Business Insider article mentioned earlier, claims that both of the Bush presidents would wake up early and schedule all of their important meetings in the morning as well. Now that we have discussed all of the benefits of getting up early, let’s talk about ways this affects our brain.

Our sleeping patterns are mainly affected by the wiring of our brains. Scientists at University of Leicester, observed the chronology of fruit flies, and their genetic genes, according to the website Frontiers of May 8, 2015 titled “Gene Expression Associated with Early and Late Chronotypes in Drosophila Melanogaster.” The chronotype of an individual, is the time of day they prefer or are most active in, and what the scientists found was amazing. The distinct chronotype individuals, have differently structured brains, which is another reason individuals have “alarm clock” genes. Another reason many teens become night owls, is that society seems to give the all-nighters the attention, many people crave. How many times have we heard the sentence “I’m tired ‘cause I went to bed at 3 A.M.”? Not only that, but also, as kids we are constantly wanting to stay up later because it’s “cool”.  The sleeping part of sleepovers never seems to start until 2-3 A.M. Society as a whole, seems to bring a lot more attention and empathy to those who stay up later.  An additional cause for staying up late, is due to the artificial light we create, so it can be normal to be awake for the full 24 hours of the day. The previously mentioned website Christian Science Monitor says; “Night owls are defying ancestral-genetic tendencies.” This means that every since the invention of the light bulb, we are rewiring our genes to the chronotype we have now, and are passing this gene down through recent generations. How can we stop this gene from affecting many generations?

The solution to this night owl habit will need to be broken down into a step-by-step process. Camping, keeping windows open, and changing daily routines are the three steps to becoming an early bird, if the individuals are willing to embrace the changes. Camping in the outdoors, in a tent, away from the electronics, will help because it will embrace only natural light, and will help tell people when they need go to bed, according to Psychology Today on August 30, 2013, by Michael J Breus, article titled “Could Camping Help your Insomnia?” If someone is not able to go camping, they could try a couple weeks of lesser stress and getting to bed early. Spending time outside during the day, also seems to help many individuals. Being with nature and in some ways, living like our ancestors will help us, not only to reset our genes but to also get rid of artificial light. Artificial light causes people to stay up later, which in return makes them sleep in longer (like a night owl). If we put a stop to the artificial light, by keeping the shades open and starting to wake up refreshed in the woods, we are becoming one step closer, to being the early bird who get’s the worm. The next and most crucial step, is creating a daily routine and sticking to it. It may not seem like much, but if people start to to stick to their plans of going to bed at 8-9 P.M, and start waking up at 5-6 A.M, they will create a new sleep pattern, one that will surely benefit them. A tip to sticking to plans, is to do all the work, right after getting home, and if it starts to become late, wake up early and finish the tasks at hand.

In conclusion, being a night owl, can create psychopaths, and causes daytime sleepiness  and depression, which can lead to drugs and alcohol. Being an early riser, causes individuals to be more productive, creative, and a happier people. The chronotype of an individual is mainly due to their genes, meaning if we break the habit now, before future generations feel the impact, this treacherous habit will be easier to break. Finally, breaking the sleeping pattern. Going camping enables the resetting of our “alarm clock” genes and changing daily routines will improve lives dramatically. Somehow my eight year old sister Addie, knew being an early riser would benefit her in more ways than one. But I think, it might be solefully to annoy me. Who knows, she could be the next Albert Einstein or even Benjamin Franklin.