Morning Versus Night

I am not a morning person, also known as an A person, an early bird, or a lark.  I am a full fledged night owl.  I was happy to stay up late at night and sleep the mornings away.  It was going in in that fashion very well, for a very long time.  The only bump in the road that I faced was a very badly chosen job that required me to clock in at 4:30 AM.  It was not a very good decision on my part.

Everything was chugging along perfectly until I became a mother and my son had different ideas about my sleeping habits.  Now every morning starts at 6:30 AM on the dot.  I don't know how he does it.  I still stay up late to get chores done around the house and to finish up on homework.  So, here I am at one in the morning.  I, as well as most of the parents I know, have taken up a hybrid version of early bird and night owl.

Thankfully for me, all is not lost.  A person's sleep habits are regulated by their circadian rhythm, or a biological clock that runs on a 24-hour cycle.  Most of the time a person's circadian rhythm is controlled by hormones and the rising and falling of the sun.  Circadian rhythms can shift, and in a normal life it does, from an early riser to a late riser and slowly to an early riser, yet again later in life.  In my case an early bird child has changed my rhythm.  The adjustment was not an easy one, but it can be done.  I rely on chugging coffee every morning and I take a nap almost as often as my son does.  I think it is a good thing.  I am learning to adjust and change my own perspectives, even though that might be the sleeplessness talking.