Can You Become A Morning Person? Yes, But Not Easy

Steve Pavlina began adulthood as a night owl, until dawn and sleep past noon. For 30 years, was more than a boy of 8 hours. However, he said he has not done more per day are up early.


So he went to become a true Lark morning until 5 in the morning happy

That failed. "I fought with him for years," said the speaker, blogger and staff development in Las Vegas, but then he was successful, using a technique of sleep are many doctors recommend:. He rose to 5 hours every day, including Saturdays and Sundays, no matter how you felt about it - no alarms allows repetition.

"Now it's easy for me," said Pavlina, 40

Are you a lark or an owl?



Are you a lark (morning person) or an owl (night person)? A few differences, which are adapted from Body Clock Guide to Better Health by Michael Smolensky and Lynne Lamberg:

Most warning: About noon (Lark) / around 18:00 (Owl)

The most productive: in the late morning (lark) / late morning and late evening (Owl)

Best humor: between 9 am and 16 pm (Lark) / Continuous 8:00 to 22:00 (Owl)

Alarm: No need (Lark) / Need for multiple alarms (Owl)

The best workout time: morning (Lark) / from (an owl)

Favorite Meal: Breakfast (Lark) / Dinner (Owl)

Lark vs. Owl complete self-test, go to the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (www.cet.org).

For some, the morning is never easy. And "it is harder for most people to be a morning person in the winter," when the sun rises (awakening of nature) comes later, said Alfred Lewy, a psychiatrist who studies the "chronobiology" (the biological clock) at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

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Morning Dark is a likely contributor to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or winter depression, Lewy says. But there is no need to be clinically depressed, drag the covers over my head: a combination of genetics, age and lifestyle makes some people love the night life and the fear of the morning. When we are young adults, most of us are owls, such as age, most of us go to the side Lark, whether we like it or not. A lot of older people complain wakes up at 4 am, sleep doctors say.

But in their forties are the larks and owls more evenly - and it's nice of suffering in a world where most jobs and other responsibilities start early, says Jeanne Duffy, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Owls' is often deprived of sleep, "she said. Some react by organizing their lives to match their watches - take jobs or flexible working night concert at home.

Many people can not do it. But most can "improve productivity, and alert in the morning," says Tracey Marks, an Atlanta psychiatrist and author of The Master of sleep.

Waiting for the project, reminds slimming, Duffy says: "It requires discipline and consistency."

Here's what will be tomorrow, people can try:

• Choose your ideal waking time and if your schedule permits, work in this direction, to get up 15 minutes earlier each day, Lewy suggests. Once you arrive on time, stick to it, including weekends. Otherwise, your biological clock will drift later and you will feel on Monday morning.

• Take the first alarm. "Swing your legs over the edge of the bed and walk to the coffee," says James Wyatt, a sleep researcher at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

• Get a big dose of morning light. Light is the "strong signal" that the day is over, said Duffy. Go outside an hour's climb. Or, if it is dark, consider making a light box, a device used successfully by many people with SAD. Get guidance on the use of a Center for Environmental Therapeutics (cet.org) and the Society for light treatment and biological rhythms (sltbr.org).

• Exercise in the morning. "Having an energy boost to start the day," says Marks. Walk or jog in the morning sun and get a double boost.

• Try melatonin. Lewy recommends 0.5 milligrams eight hours after awakening and, if necessary, a larger dose at bedtime. (Note:. The hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycle, appears to be safe in numerous studies, but sold as a dietary supplement, it is tested for safety or efficacy by the Food and Drug Administration)

• Limit night lighting. "Mother Nature does not really intend for us to have all this artificial light," says Michael Smolensky, a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Thus, the lights dimmed and away the screens to tell your body it is almost time for sleep.

• Get enough sleep. "For most people, it will be seven to nine hours," says Wyatt - which means turning long before midnight it becomes easier for most people, the experts of the promise, if you follow the rest ..

If not it? You may have a disorder called syndrome delayed sleep phase - which means they have great difficulty falling asleep and waking up early in the time of work, school and other responsibilities.

These people are often unfairly judged as Slackers, Smolensky says. "Many people resort to alcohol and sleeping pills."

Doctors can help you sleep much better solutions, he said. But for some, the best idea would be to find a job at night.