Early-Riser or Night Owl?

Johnny-on-the-Spot …by John Foster …

Are you an early-riser or a night owl?

Your answer may determine how long you live.

Finnish researchers analyzed date from more than 20,000 people who took part in a 1981 survey regarding their sleep habits.

Results were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Chronobiology International. They discovered that mortality risk for night owls was not due to a lack of sleep.

It was mainly connected to smoking and alcohol.

The study didn’t explain why night owls were more likely to drink and smoke.

Jennifer Martin, professor of medicine at UCLA and former head of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine was not involved in this Finnish study.

However, she suggested night owls are more likely to hang out at places late at night where drinking and smoking is more prevalent.

So, I guess night owls living shorter lives is not necessarily due to less sleep or bad sleep habits.

Not all that many years ago, the only businesses open late at night were bars, clubs or bistros.

But now you can go shopping at all hours of the day.

The old adage, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” is credited to Benjamin Franklin.

Old Ben had a rigid sleep schedule…7 hours per night…hitting the sack at 10:00PM and arising at 5:00AM.

Additional research says morning people tend to do better in school, they’re better at anticipating problems and they are proactive.

Now, night owls tend to be smarter and more creative, are more outgoing and have better senses of humor but they tend to be out of sync with the typical corporate schedule.

Other studies have shown that there is a difference in brain chemistry between late night creative types and early morning larks.

I discovered about 15% of people are “night owls” and researchers say being an early-riser and a night owl can impact your physical and mental health.

You’ve undoubtedly heard that “The early bird gets the worm,” meaning starting early maximizes the potential outcome.

Couldn’t the night owl snag that worm before sacking out in the wee small hours of the morning?

Don’t forget, too, “The second mouse gets the cheese.”

My life at one time was a combination of “early bird” and “night owl”.

I worked early morning hours at a radio station while three nights a week, usually Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, I played with small bands.

Many nights I would be coming home after two A-M before having to be on-the air at 6:00AM.

I don’t recall getting many worms or pieces of cheese in those years.

I was also working a full 8+ hour day.

Of course, I was also a few years younger then.

Many of the places our band played in were poorly-ventilated and smoking was also permitted.

Once a year I would have to break down my drum equipment and cleaning the yellow-brown sludge that collected on them.

If there’s any truth to the stories of second-hand smoke, I was probably a two-pack a night guy at least 3 days a week in those days.

For most of the past 30 years, I’ve been a true “early-birder”, rolling out of the sack at 3:30AM but I only work till ten and an early-afternoon piloting of my recliner for an hour or so has become routine.

That makes the typical sack time between 9PM and 10PM.

Gotta tell you thought that in my times of “night owling”, this world does look and act differently. In 1972, the Edgar Winter Group released their debut studio album, “They Only Come Out at Night”.

Not only is it one of my favorite albums, I think they were on to something with the title.

Then there was the time I spent in Greenland.

October to February is primarily dark while March to September is quite bright.

A typical 12 hour clock is largely useless because 6 o’clock can be either light or dark, whether it’s AM or PM, depending on the time of year.

That will mess with your mind and sleep habits a bit.

Just had another thought regarding the Scandinavian study cited in the column.

When they completed their work, they would truly be “Finished”.