What Makes a Person a Night Owl?

The terms "night owl" and "night person" are given to people who seem to function and work better through the hours of the night than most other people who spend the night hours sleeping. It seems to be a natural predisposition rather than a lifestyle choice.

Where it Came From

• According to the Random House Dictionary, the term "night owl" was generated sometime in the 1500s with a reference to avian species that function only after the sun goes down. The term was then shifted over to human behavior three centuries later in the 1800s.

Who They Are

• Night owls are people who seem to be as nocturnal in their sleeping and waking patterns as real owls. They have no problem functioning well past midnight and into the dawn hours of the next morning. The biggest energy burn tends to be in the last hours of the reversed sleep cycle, closest to their dawn bedtime.

Causes

• Folks who fit the night owl description may simply be predisposed to working later in the day and into the night, rather than following a traditional schedule, due to innate differences in their circadian rhythm. Science Daily refers to the possibility of an after-hours gene found in mice that, if true for humans as well, could very well explain some people's circadian cycles being different from the mainstream sun-up/sun-down types.

  On the other hand, for those who do have genuine sleeping disorders due to a disruption in their system, adapting to a night owl schedule could simply be making a good thing out of a bad situation.

Common Confusion with Insomnia

• Insomnia is a medical condition in which the body is prevented from shutting down and sleeping. An insomniac is traditionally not interested in staying awake at night; the problem is that he simply can't get to sleep no matter how many attempts he makes. Insomnia can be extreme or partial, with situations ranging from not being able to get to sleep initially to sleeping fitfully and waking up frequently. As a result, the person never fully rests, and often feels impaired later during waking hours. Unlike being a "natural" night owl, an insomniac has no choice and may indeed very much prefer to sleep soundly at night if it were possible.

Night Owls and the Day World

• Night owls, when forced to work or function during traditional daylight hours, have a tough time of it. It can be difficult adjusting; frequently they are tardy for early appointments and don't function well before the noon hour. This can be a frequent source of stress in a workplace that does not allow flexible work hours and expects fully functioning employees at 7 or 8 a.m.

Other Related Names

• Those with a preference for being a night owl may find themselves being described by different terms in different regions. In some countries, night owls are referred to as B-people, whereas the morning types are called A-people. An article in the Journal of Chronobiology International (2006) refers to qualities of the two types as morningness and eveningness.