Morning Person or Night Owl? by Nick

Morning Person or Night Owl? by Nick - January 2019 Scholarship Essay

Sleep habits vary depending on the individual that is being considered. To operate better in the morning or far into the night can be affected by many things, personality, circumstance and perhaps mostly by one’s circadian rhythm which is difficult to change. What can affect this is outside influences such as screen-time or sunrise and sunset times in one’s particular hemisphere. These are factors that I have seen affect my sleep schedule the most and induce me to be a night owl.

My personality is conducive to staying up late at night. I do not have strictly scheduled times for myself. I am not one to stringently follow self-imposed rules. If I have set my own bedtime to be at a relatively early time, chances are that I will later ignore it because I have found important things to be done. I do many productive things in the evening, such as like homework, piano practice, acrylic painting, and essays for scholarships. I can often be too excited to go to bed. I am very productive at this time because I have more energy and I generally feel more creative.

Added to this, I have disconnected my association of darkness and sleep. In the northern parts of the United States, it gets dark earlier. During winter in northern Minnesota, the sun will set at almost 4:30 in the afternoon. This is too early for anybody, even morning people. This would be extremely early even for supper. The fact that the sun is down does not alarm me and I often will stay up for seven hours past sunset.

Another factor in this would be the use of devices with screens at this time. There are many productive things to be done on devices such as phones and laptop computers. Not only do I study and do homework, but I also read eBooks and do finances. However, the use of this technology can prevent me from sleeping because of the blue light that comes from the screen. There are two solutions to this. First, I make use of blue light filter applications that can avoid this issue. But, second, the most effective way to eliminate this problem is to limit screen time in general. I can do this by trying to do the non-paper homework a little earlier in the evening or afternoon. But the best way to limit screen time is to not do superfluous or unimportant things that involve this technology. I can fall into this sometimes.

There are many reasons why I am a night person. I have more energy and excitement at this time. I will not be able to sleep if I have something I need to do. I have little concern for the time or light levels outdoors. And I occasionally use my cell phone and laptop at these times which I strive to keep at a minimum. I am indeed an incurable night owl.