Although early larks and night owls are a thing, here's how to turn yourself into an earlier bird

We tend to glorify early risers. Yet, that's oversimplistic and even harmful.

Although Benjamin Franklin's adage of "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" is deeply ingrained in our culture, it's not supported by the latest science.

Prof. Till Roenneberg, one of the leading chronobiologists, put it best: "Early birds and night owls are born, not made." In 2017, three of his colleagues were even awarded the Nobel Prize for showing that our tendency to be a morning or evening person is largely genetic.

Roenneberg argues that we are not machines that can be programmed to a particular daily schedule. Instead, we're organisms, and each of us has our own natural circadian rhythm.

These findings might offer a bit of relief to night owls, who often struggle with going to bed in the evening and getting up to speed in time the next day. Yet, the societal demands of a nine-to-five working world remain very challenging to true night owls.

However, chances are you're not a true night owl. As it turns out, only 25% of us fall into this category. And while changing the societal demands upon you is probably difficult, you actually can shift your sleep-wake cycle forward.

In a recent and brilliant study, Dr. Elise Facer-Childs from the University of Birmingham and her colleagues show how. They enabled (alleged) night owls to shift the timing of their internal clock towards a pattern that is more aligned with societal demands – with a significant positive impact on their mental health and performance.

Based on that study, here's how to turn yourself into a (somewhat) earlier bird. Let’s assume you want to get used to going to bed at 11 pm and waking up between 6.30 and 7.00 am. Here’s what to do:

1. Be deliberate about light, the major circadian "time giver"
   Maximize outdoor light exposure in the mornings, and get a least 10 minutes before 10 am. Also, minimize exposure to bright (blue) light during the evenings, notably after 10 pm. In a nutshell, adhere to my 10-10-10 rule.
   

2. Use exercise and nutrition to support the shift of your internal clock
   If exercise is part of your usual routine, schedule it during the morning. Keep a regular schedule for all of your daily meals. And most importantly, avoid caffeine after 3 pm and eating three hours before bed. In short, follow my 3-3-3 rule.
   

3. Have fixed sleep and wake times, including on weekends and days off
   Keep your sleep time fixed (within 15-30 minutes) at 11 pm. Do the same for your wake time by keeping it between 6.30 and 7.00 am. Include the weekend and days off.

While that last one might be challenging, regular sleep and wake times are crucial for shifting your internal clock. As a bonus, they’re also vital for getting the 90 minutes of deep sleep you need each night. I'll delve deeper into this next week.

Until then, here’s a challenge for the (alleged) night owls amongst you: Follow these tips for a week and let me know what happened.

Until then, I have a little favor to ask. Please share this post with three people you know who might benefit from turning themselves into somewhat earlier birds.

Until next week,
Christian