Why Be a Lark Over a Night Owl
For those that aren’t aware a Lark is a morning person whereas a night owl, which is fairly self explanatory, is a night time person. There have been lots of studies on the two types, so as a “lark” myself I thought I’d mention a few notable ones to try and lure you to becoming a morning person yourself.
Lark’s Procrastinate Less
This one shouldn’t surprise you too much, but morning people tend to be more productive and procrastinate less. This was backed by a study in 1997 and 2008. My personal opinion on this is because there is much less distraction in the morning combined with your body having just woken up and feeling fresh. If you compare that to the evening where you may have been at work all day and feeling the signs of fatigue mental or physically, then it's no wonder why morning people tend to be more productive.
Lark’s are Happier
A 2012 study found that early risers tend to be happier over their late night compatriots. It also stated that since older adults are generally the demographic that are early risers this could be a contributing factor to their improved well-being in comparison to the younger generation. For me personally I can definitely see this study when I compare myself to other people in my circle, I’m generally the more positive voice in a group. When it comes down to this one I think it comes down to that morning people have had time to get stuff done, and as the previous point suggested we procrastinate in getting tasks done less. Combining the additional time and less procrastination there is generally a sense of achievement and less pressure during the day that I personally believe can be responsible for those higher levels of happiness.
Lark’s are Thinner
This one caught me by surprise, in 2014 a study by the Northwestern University was able to find a relation between those that woke up earlier and got more exposure to light than those who did not due it its effect on the metabolism system. This was the first time it has been shown, so more studies would have to be done to truly prove the relationship, but it’s still an interesting study. Personally I exercise in the morning as it helps boost my energy and concentration levels for the day, if morning rays are helping along with my fitness journey then i’m all for that.
Lark’s have more likely to breakfast
Generally since there is less rushing around to get to where you need to be, you have more time available to you to have breakfast rather than skip the meal. Studies have shown the important of breakfast such as this one in 2014 which linked skipping breakfast to “excess bodyweight, hypertension, insulin resistance, and elevated fasting lipid concentrations”. I personally use to skip breakfast a lot prior to switching my routines around to being a morning person, and I have definitely seen benefits in my energy levels, calorie intake and general health by not skipping the meal.
Convinced?
If I’m honest this is the first time I have really looked into studies for morning people. I was curious about the scientific side of it. Generally I will always advise people to try something themselves and get first hand experience to make up their mind on something. There are countless benefits I’ve seen to waking up earlier, many no doubt with no scientific research behind them, but they work for me. Becoming a morning person is definitely one of the biggest changes I’ve made to my life, and it is one of a few main things I recommend people start doing if they want to shift up their routine. With that i’m going to leave you with a video I did on 5 tips for waking up earlier;