Naturally Nocturnal Humans

God I wish there was one person in the real world who understood this. I sit here at 5:24 am typing, just now starting to get tired. I have never been able to go to sleep early, and throughout high school suffered many lectures by my parents of being "lazy." Luckily for me (I guess not many would call this lucky, but eh), I got mono my junior year of high school...I got to sleep in the day and blame it on the mono Even today, though, when I go home to visit my family, I get yelled at for not waking up at 8 am to help mow the friggin yard (our yard is mostly dirt by the way!)...it's really good to know I'm not the only one, as I've never met someone in real life who is this way. I end up having to stay up for days at a time to fit my college schedule simply because I am incapable of sleeping at night and have to go to class all day.

Originally posted by Alexander_Supertramp
God I wish there was one person in the real world who understood this

I hear you, i'm in the same situation. Funny to see this thread just when i had read some of it somewhere else.

When i was around 4 years old i always enjoyed staying up late, when my parents went to a party, wedding, you name it, i always waited until they returned, of course, the rest of the days i had to sleep early because of school.

When i was 15 i started to go to bed around 3-4 am during any day when i had no school the next one, i felt really comfortable doing things at night, but obviouslt my parents never understood that, they think that i'm sleepy all day because i always go to bed around 5 am, which is not the reason, even when i forced myself to go to bed early (9-10 pm) only resulted in struggling to sleep and still, the next day i would be sleepy all day, and having trouble to sleep during the night, but if i lay down on anything during the day, even the floor, i fall asleep within 5 minutes.

And now, i'm 22 and i go to sleep at 5 am everyday, and since everybody else is sleeping, i don't have any distractions so i spend most of my time working on personal projects, i just wish other people would understand that we have a different rhythm.

I litteraly feel ill if I am up during the day. Only problem is it is ruining my life.

nice post;
i had no idea that being nocturnal was normal;

and its pretty much the same for me too;
after a couple days of being awake during the day;
i would start to go to bed later and later everyday untill finally im sleeping during the day and waking up at night

Another one here too...
Same story really, always had trouble sleeping since i was about ten.
I stay up late all week and catch up on the weekends, my housemates think im lazy Funny thing is i never thought about doing anything about till i saw this thread. Maybe i should accept it and readjust my life to a pattern that doesnt leave me feeling like a zombie....
Thank you op. s+f

Well I find I too am with you all sort of. I am indeed very much a night person and it is 4 in the morning here as I type and I have yet to sleep! I also have to be up in about three hours! It sucks but my wife has at least accepted it somewhat too. Though she also misses sleeping with me so she gets mad if I don't try to sleep at night with her at least once or twice a week. Where I run into trouble with most people and society is that I really only function well if I sleep on MY schedule which doesn't fit in society either. I find the only way I am refreshed is if I sleep a few hours in the morning from alittle after sun up for about 4-5 hours then taking a nap for a few hours in the early evening! This is the only schedule that worls for me and of course nobody else gets it. Very frustrating for me but I believe it's not necessarily natural for everyone to sleep for 8 straight hours! Five and three is my best or even four and four!

everyone here listen to this song:

www.youtube.com...

No generalisations please.

Youmay feel like that,but it doesnt mean that ALL humans are nocturnal. Its individUALLY different.

I never would like to miss a rising sun above the aegean sea or the hot silence of a greek midday

[edit on 20-3-2010 by Dynamitrios]

I have been a nocturnal person since childhood, I believe...

However, growing up (school and what not), then employment in the corporate world meant I had to deny myself living this way for a very long time, to the detriment of both my physical and mental health...

Since I began working for myself a few years ago in a profession that does not require me to keep "normal business hours", I have been able to keep hours that are much more in-tune with "me"...

I generally awake around 3PM & go to bed around 6AM...Since I began keeping these hours my mental health has improved out of sight (I had previously suffered chronic depression for 2 decades, and GAD for 8 or so years) to the point where I rarely have depressive episodes anymore and anxiety is non existent...

As a result, my physical health has also improved markedly...I no longer feel constantly tired and worn out, I no longer have constant flu like symptoms such as all over body aches and I have been able to lose about 20kg in weight during this time and keep it off...

Being able to keep the hours my mind and body need has been a blessing to me, tho I realise many people aren't as fortunate due to life/work/family commitments...

wow very interesting thread. Thanks for posting, now I don't feel like I am the only person who doesn't sleep on a normal schedule. I have been lucky to have at least 1 friend that stays up the same hours I do (till about 5-8 am) but I always thought we were just different than most.
My fiance hates my sleeping schedule but she understands, I was hospitalized over the summer because I had not been able to sleep for 4 days and I got very weak and lost 25lb in 3 weeks from not being able to eat much. They had no problem prescribing me both Ambien and Trazodone...I have since found more natural means of treating my symptoms.
Even If i go to bed "early" it is like 1-3 am.

its funny almost everyone of you remind me of myself
i have always been a night owl
i never goto bed before 5 am unless i have to work early but even then i will stay up real late and usually end up only getting 3-4 hours sleep

usually at least once a month i have what i call a skip day where i cant sleep at all ill just toss and turn all night long

honestly i dont think there has even been a day of my life past age 3 when i went to bed before midnight and if i try i will just lay in bed awake
then i get pissed off that i cant sleep but when that happens i will only try to sleep for an hour then i will get out of bed and go watch tv or read have a smoke and not try for atleast 20 -30 min then i can usually fall asleep

i just mention it because it usually works but if i stay in bed i will usually toss and turn till about an hour before i have to get up then i will sleep like the dead and not want to go to work lol

funny thing is i really like summertime and going swimming and such so in summertime i goto bed at 6 or 7 in the morning then get up at about 11 am or noon to go enjoy the best part of the day

i always tell everyone i know dont call me before noon or i will just be pissed off

It has been proven that your normal sleep and awake cycle is determined by your genetics. No real surprise here.

Yeah me and my one sister find it easier to stay up late. I don't know if it is just natural for us or what. No matter how hard I try, I always fall into the 2nd shift sleeping pattern.

i must say like others can relate. had cops called on me for playing and singing[trying to] lol.us the cop at my door blocked the peep hole.us which in turn i became defensive. he then whent on to ask if i had a job. i did.us asked if was smokeing pot?not in my house homie. then simply asked why i was up playing guitar at that time.us so i entertained him and explained my work schedule. lol as he was leaveing i asked if say six or seven am is okey to jam out whith no worries.needless to i did not get a straight awnser. i must he did not try violate my rights in anyway and he just doing his job

For all of you nocturnal individuals.. you may find this link of interest: dustincurtis.com...

I am pretty sure you can shift the sleep schedules the certain number of hours needed for you to be in your "optimal" nocturnal sleeping times.

Perhaps this method of "hacking" the brain will allow all you nocturnal individuals that seek a more "normal" waking life.

Originally posted by ScRuFFy63
Fpr those of you that are "nocturnal" that's all fine and dandy but just know that your body, specifically your pineal gland changes serotonin to melatonin only while you sleep at night.

en.wikipedia.org...

Maybe this works different for Nocturnals. I'm sure our body knows how to manage itself and since we are naturally nocturnal, the rest of our body might be just adjusted to that too. There's probably still much research to be done, but for example, my body temp is lower in the day, so is my appetite.

Thanks everyone for your comments and personal storys! Keep em coming, it feels really good to see that we are not alone, doesn't it?

Yes I have become like this, i start to sleep around 5.30 and force my self to rise any time between 12 and 3pm.Not that i was always like this my son age 20 is the same a night owl,i also have an elderly neighbor a bloke, hes saying he feels better at night,i feel lousy till about 6 30pm and get better as the night advances.I have put this down to modern mobile network signals for in my case ,i was not born like this.
MY theory is people and business are not using the 5 towers around my area as much at night and as they finish working signal strength plummets also cars and electricity demand goes down, Electro Smog.
Come 9pm then i am full of energy but everyone else is going to bed.
The towers must have a system of demand so as more people use equipment the higher the signal amplification .but i am only guessing.
Forgot to add we have lots of police towers as well
People here who have this prob Do any of you notice that this is new phenomenon this last 15 years or so gradually getting worse, aches pains stomach probs joints eating habits feeling like a zombie in day unable to move about if actually awake .also when i have been asleep i awake with something akin to hangover .



[edit on 20-3-2010 by onecon]


JUST TO ADD THINKING ABOUT THIS WE MAYBE VERY SENSITIVE AS WE ARE ALL ON ATS SENSITIVE TO SPIRIT oops ,and interested in things most are not ,i dont really have anytime for sport and consider it a waste of time maybe we are bei ng targeted by the man

[edit on 20-3-2010 by onecon]

i'm more of a night person too. either we can move to new york city or la, or we can f off. i choose the second option.

I would just like to add that I am also someone who feels more comfortable at night and struggles with "insomnia" on a daily basis. Honestly I can't decide if this is due to a lifetime of playing computer games and/or reading late into the night or if it is something we are naturally born with. Either way it is certainly more common than most people would think and I must say it gives me great comfort to know there are so many others out there like myself.

Originally posted by onecon
Yes I have become like this, i start to sleep around 5.30 and force my self to rise any time between 12 and 3pm.Not that i was always like this my son age 20 is the same a night owl,i also have an elderly neighbor a bloke, hes saying he feels better at night,i feel lousy till about 6 30pm and get better as the night advances.I have put this down to modern mobile network signals for in my case ,i was not born like this.
MY theory is people and business are not using the 5 towers around my area as much at night and as they finish working signal strength plummets also cars and electricity demand goes down, Electro Smog.
Come 9pm then i am full of energy but everyone else is going to bed

.
The towers must have a system of demand so as more people use equipment the higher the signal amplification .but i am only guessing.

Forgot to add we have lots of police towers as well

People here who have this prob Do any of you notice that this is new phenomenon this last 15 years or so gradually getting worse, aches pains stomach probs joints eating habits feeling like a zombie in day unable to move about if actually awake .also when i have been asleep i awake with something akin to hangover .

[edit on 20-3-2010 by onecon]

I don't think it can be blamed on Electro smog. While electro smog might interfere with quality of sleep and other things, our natural rythm is hardcoded into genes. There are nocturnal human's all over the world and have probably existed before there was electro smog. I personally didn't notice a trend that there would be more now. And it kind of makes you wonder why other's can sleep at night, and live in the same area, doesn't it?

I do have a better sleep when mobile phones are off and don't feel to well if theres to much electro smog around me, but it just doesn't change my rythm.

Have you tried to move somewhere else?



[edit on 20-3-2010 by Nightflower]