Sleeping

Is there actually a difference whether you go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 8 AM than when you go to bed at 4 AM and wake up at 2 PM? Is it really more refreshing? I mean, you still sleep 10 hours.

Reason I ask is, I have to go to school 3 days a week and have to wake up early (before 8AM) only twice a week so I usually don't go to bed before 4 AM (it's 4.18 right now). I usually don't sleep past 1 PM.

I just can't get any sleep before, I'm a total night person, have been since I was like 13. You might even call it on-set insomnia, whatever.

So.. What do you think?

 

There's definitely a difference. Sunlight for one...I bet you're more productive the days you wake up early.

 

Well "studies have shown" that people who work nights and sleep during the day are at higher risks for cancer. I have little faith in the majority of these studies, but can see there being some truth to this.

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2007/12/cancer-on-the-night-shift-why-workers-are-at-risk/

Each of us has a circadian rhythm, and, in general, we all march to the same beat. Our circadian rhythms dictate when we wake up and when we go to sleep, and they function, more or less, on a 24-hour cycle. This rhythm is in large part driven by natural light and dark cycles, when the sun comes up and when the sun goes down.

Our bodies respond to light and dark cycles via a hormone called melatonin, which is related to tryptophan, the chemical that devourers of turkey consume in excess at the dinner table every Thanksgiving. It’s not surprising then that increased secretion of melatonin, which occurs in the dark, tells us to go to sleep, much like tryptophan does as soon as we retreat to the couch with bellies full of turkey. In addition to regulating sleep cycles, melatonin also possesses antioxidant activity, bolsters immune function, and regulates the secretion of other hormones, such as growth hormone and reproductive hormones.

About 20 percent of the working population in the United States overcomes melatonin’s sleep-inducing powers on a regular basis in order to work night shifts. The number of people working night shift jobs is increasing. Traditionally, service workers, such as factory workers, security guards, and bakers, filled night shift positions. Today, computer programmers, technical support providers, health care workers, and internet administrators work night shifts, too. In most cases, night shift workers function off beat to their natural rhythms to ensure that the rest of the working world starts the morning on the right beat.

 

It's weird, I recently had to wake up at 7.30AM or so, went to school, took a walk outside, did the usual stuff and started watching movies, I didn't fall asleep until 7AM. 24 hours with no effort whatsoever and I didn't feel tired once.

 

I work a swing shift. I'm on nights right now. As long as I get around 8 hours I'm good.

 

I'd never ever get a night job, I'd rather force myself out of bed at 6AM every morning. Don't wanna fuck my shit up too much.

 

yeah, outward surroundings influence you when you sleep, such as light
you sleep better in darkness
and during the day there tends to be more activists happening around and the sounds effect you as well
you might not notice it at first but you could be running a sleep deficit

 

maybe not that time but if u did that over any period of time i bet you'd start feeling run down or over stimulated. i get the same problem, but mine comes and goes sometimes i can sleep just fine others i don't sleep for like 2-3 days

 

I work on the same schedule, or so...

I don't go to sleep on the weekends till 7 or so a.m. but I go to sleep at around 2 a.m. on the weekdays (when at school, that is).

I haven't really noticed much of a difference, I never get more than 8 hours during the week though, because I stay up as late as I can. I do seem to "make it up" on the weekends though, sleeping a good 10-12 hours. People say that this doesn't work, but it sure does for me. Has worked all of my life.

 

I usually get about 3 or 4 on my two school days but otherwise my schedule's similar.

 

I'm pretty sure at our age, it doesn't make that big of a difference, but it probably will when you're older.

 

My Dad's pretty much the same way (it's almost 5AM and he's awake, too) and my Grandpa's had a night job for the past 10 years so I guess it runs in the family.

 

yes, i have trouble falling asleep any time before 3-4am, and many days i am awake till 6 or 7. occasionally if i don't have anything to do in the afternoon and no reason to wake up i will just stay up all day and pass out around 9pm. i love doing that because i will wake up around 5-6am and have so much daylight ahead of me. but my body natural thrives during the night. i have a strange circadian rhythm that i think really set in a few winters ago when i tripped way too much.

 

It's always best to sleep according to your schedule, and 7-9 hours of sleep is the optimal hours recommended to function at max whenever it is you're awake. Also, some people just have a natural schedule their body follows, like unicorn's.

 

I think it depends on the person. Some peoples internal clocks are set different. Honestly- I would much rather be a morning person- wake up at dawn, go to bed at 9pm, My mom says I was that way even as a child . Years of hubby(or both of us) working night shift has been a damn hard adjustment for me..
My daughter is the damn opposite- I swear she runs better waking up sometime after noon - having a evening nap- and staying up late into the night.

--- Also, I read something about teenagers typically functioning better on later schedules or some shit, due to hormones and the amount of sleep they need.

 

I don't really need a lot of sleep.

Goddamn hormones.

 

There is definitely an age correlation. The older I get, the greater I feel the need for an early schedule.

 

I guess, some really old people wake up at 5 AM.

 

id say it depends on the person

for me no

although if light is coming into my room window or its dark outside then i think it differs

 

That's true...not saying she's really old or anything, but my aunt cannot sleep PAST 4am, even if she doesn't lay down until 11 or 12 at night. She said that if she sleeps past 4, she will feel like crap the rest of the day.