An unimportant topic for today - is there a stigma to sleeping late?

[PeacefulChaos]

On a regular basis, that is?

With no real 'reason' to except that it's what one likes to do?  As in, no late jobs for mom or dad, etc.

 

 

 

 

Here's why I ask:

 

I have always naturally been a night owl.  I can easily stay up until the wee hours of the morning and not notice how late it is.  At night, I don't start feeling tired until you reach something like 3-4am.  

In the same way, I have also naturally woken up later than some.  9am feels like an accomplishment to me.  I can easily sleep until 10-11.  Often, my alarm goes off 4-5 times before I remember it - and that is usually around 9-9:30.  

 

Maybe it's because that's been my life.  As a kid, it was just me and my grandparents, and Friday nights were the night my grandma and I went to where my grandpa worked (as did many other families) and we'd stay there til 11pm usually.  On rare nights it was later - 1-2am would be the latest.  Saturday mornings I'd sleep until 10:30am pretty regularly.

I always went to bed at a decent time for school, and got up fine.  Yeah, I'm a zombie when I first wake up, but I'm capable of getting up and getting around - as long as there is somewhere to be.  

In high school I began working at DQ as a junior, and only worked until 9 on school nights.  I could easily work later on the weekends, however.

 

So now, I do make myself go to bed - or at least I try to - at 11pm (if I don't make myself, I will stay up without second thought until 2am pretty regularly).  However, it seems like no matter WHEN I lay down, I just don't wake up until 9:30-10:30.  I wish I could push it closer to 8:30/9.  I think if I could manage to get up at 8 it would be amazing.  I guess it would anyway?

DH of course gets up to go to work at 6.  I see no point in us getting up that early, but he thinks we would benefit from getting up around 7 because then we would have so much time in the day.  I think to myself, time for what?  Like really, for what?  If we got up that early - even if we got up at 8 - we would probably be done with school work by noon.  I guess.  Idk... right now the kids start their work around 10:30/11 and finish anywhere from 3-4, depending on the day.  That includes lunch.  I guess being done by noon would be fine, that just feels like so much time.  I'm not used to that being a long portion of the day.  In the afternoons we'd probably do what we do already - relax, the kids go outside, etc.  

We usually save cleaning the house for after dinner because that's my best time of day, energy wise.  DH feels the opposite - he would rather everyone be relaxing after dinner.  I don't like to all 'sit in front of the tv' or anything like that (LAME! lol) - there's no way we'd sit around and play a board game or something every.single.night. (DH HATES board games.)  So I don't really see the point.  I mean, I guess he and the kids could sit around and watch tv if they want to, but I'd just find something else to do because I think that's boring.  Occasionally when it happens now, I'll get on the computer and do something else or grab the iPad and watch something on my own.  Or I'll find a reason to leave the house, if I haven't been out for awhile - run to the store or something.  I just hate sitting there.

Once the kids 'go to bed' at 9 (Pink is the only one who actually goes to bed at that time - the boys are allowed to stay up later, in their room) I feel like it's time to relax.  Then I sit down and watch something, eat a snack, whatev.

 

So I guess I just don't see the point in getting up earlier, other than that there's this idea that getting up earlier = getting more done during the day.  I guess I can see that possibility, but what else needs to be done?  It's not like I need to clean the house every day.   :blink:  As it is I have plenty of free time.  So why do I want to get up early just to make more??

I don't think the kids will get bad habits from it because we still get up when we need to be somewhere with no problems.  We get up and go to church every Sunday at 8am (to be there by 9:30).  They see DH and I get up to go to work when we need to (DH daily, me on Saturday mornings).  When we have other things that require it, we get up.  So why does it matter?

 

So tell me, is there truth to it?  Does more get done?  What do you do if you're up all day?

 

If I get up earlier, do I have to go to bed earlier?  Do I just require a lot of sleep?  I really like relaxing at night sans kids.  So would I have to give that up?

 

Or is it just a stigma, all that 'early to bed, early to rise' crap?  

 

Inquiring minds (aka mine) want to know.

 

 

 

ETA: forgot to add, regarding evenings, that I usually work Sunday, Monday, and either Thursday/Friday evenings.  DH goes to the squad Tuesday evenings.  We have church Wednesday evenings.  This is optimal to me.  I'd rather not be home in the evenings at all, because I just think it's boring.  So if I didn't even have the usual daily stuff to do then, I don't know what I'd do.  And I don't do the usual daily stuff by myself - the kids help with cleaning the kitchen and dining room after dinner, getting toys out of the living room, and cleaning their rooms.  This all happens after dinner, sometimes taking all the way until their 'bedtime', which is why DH thinks they should do it earlier.  But making them come inside to clean their rooms in the afternoon seems weird to me.

[Farrar]

According to my 9 yo, who woke me up at 10 this morning...  yes.   :tongue_smilie:

[Catwoman]

We are night owls in our family, so we all go to bed late and get up late.

 

But I have to admit that I don't advertise it to the people I know, either, because most of them are very early-risers, and I have a feeling they would think we were lazy for getting up late. In the end, we are up for more hours of the day than they are, though!

 

I go to bed pretty close to the time when many people are getting up in the morning.

[Liz CA]

I am exactly like you. I fall asleep around midnight and get up between 7a.m. and 8a.m.

Yes, there is a stigma. People like us are considered lazy. Never mind that we get more done in the evening hours than most others and it does even out most likely with their morning productivity.

 

I often wish I was a morning person but it seems almost impossible to change. My mother says I've been like this from day 1.

[Night Elf]

I used to stay up late. I finally figured out that either I have a lot of time during the day if I go to bed early and wake up early, or I have a lot of time at night if I go to bed late at night and wake up late the next morning. I honestly don't see one being better than the other. Does your DH want company early in the morning, or is he just not happy that you and the kids are still moving around after dinner? Maybe he wants company while he watches tv? Otherwise, why would your hours bother him?

[PeacefulChaos]

I used to stay up late. I finally figured out that either I have a lot of time during the day if I go to bed early and wake up early, or I have a lot of time at night if I go to bed late at night and wake up late the next morning. I honestly don't see one being better than the other. Does your DH want company early in the morning, or is he just not happy that you and the kids are still moving around after dinner? Maybe he wants company while he watches tv? Otherwise, why would your hours bother him?

I think it's the bolded?  It's not like he makes a big deal out of it or anything - he's just mentioned it.  

 

I hope he doesn't want company early in the morning.  I'm worthless at that time of day, even if I manage to wake up.   :lol:

 

ETA: Oh, right.  He said Astro was crying when it was 'bedtime' the other night (I was gone) because he hadn't done anything but clean (dining room, bedroom) since dinner.  It isn't rare for that to be the case - not the crying, but the time frame, especially since the boys now have to take a shower every night.

[Liz CA]

We are night owls in our family, so we all go to bed late and get up late.

 

But I have to admit that I don't advertise it to the people I know, either, because most of them are very early-risers, and I have a feeling they would think we were lazy for getting up late. In the end, we are up for more hours of the day than they are, though!

 

I go to bed pretty close to the time when many people are getting up in the morning.

 

Yup. I hear a lot of people (somewhat proudly) exclaim : "We are early risers" as if it were a positive character trait. I don't stand around exclaiming: "I work till midnight and sleep till 8" even though sometimes I want to...really badly.  :)

[Susan C.]

Hi!

I do think there can be a stigma to staying up late and sleeping late. I do, but it is to cope with two adult kids (one working swing shift, the other at local college) and a self employed husband who also is a night owl. When I homeschooled, I needed the quiet house to correct work and get the next day's work ready, I just couldn't do it with all the distractions. Also, secretly, I think I liked the time to myself, and night was the only time it could happen. It worked well when the kids worked well on their own, they each had stacks of work to do that I had prepared the night before, and by the time I got up, they were ready for me to help and/or go over schoolwork. It is difficult for me to back up my hours, I feel terrible, am tired, and so when I go through the trouble to do it, I want to know I can keep the earlier hours. Which never happens. If my entire family were on earlier hours, I would gladly back up. Here is what is needed for me to do that: First, I set the alarm for when I want to get up. I may go back to sleep, but after several mornings, I start waking up for a moment then. Then I have a low sleep night, go to bed regular time, but then get up early. I keep getting up early, and eventually (it takes a few nights) I will be able to go to sleep earlier. I can't ever go to bed early when I have slept in because of course, I'm not tired.

 

Problems with sleeping late are morning appointments, people/businesses returning calls, UPS deliveries, friends popping by with the lovely "oh yeah I forgot you sleep til noon..." and different meal times, "let's meet for lunch at 11:30"... (nope). So you can be out of synch with everyone else. I learned to do what works for me and not worry what others think. I even have told (many) people that we are on 2nd shift hours.

[elegantlion]

My Ds is like you, he starts being productive at midnight. We live, as someone else stated in another thread, sort of in our own time zone. I get up about 8, but I'm not a morning person. We school in the afternoon. Because I'm a single parent and no on is coming home at 5 and expecting dinner, it works well for us. We sometimes school until 7, then worry about dinner.

[TammyS]

Is there a stigma?  Yes.  It's leftover from when night time light was non-existant or expensive.  If you were staying in bed late, it meant you weren't getting work done.  It's probably an outdated stigma and will fade eventually.

 

That said, I think your dh has a point.  You and the kids are living on a different schedule to him and you are pushing your work time into his relaxation time.  That's really not fair, IMO.  I'm not saying you all have to sit and watch TV together.  Relaxation time can be whatever suits you and your family.  But just imagine how you would feel if you came home from a day at work and you can't relax because the people around you are cleaning the house, and you feel like you should help (because you should) but it's happening during what should be your relaxation time.  I don't care how much you tell dh that it's ok for him to relax now, he won't be able to.  So, IMO, you should make more of an effort to accomodate that. 

 

That doesn't mean you have to give up your non-kid time at night.  It just means you need to reschedule it.  The kids need to go to bed (or at least retire to their rooms to read quietly) earlier than you and dh.  So, if you are all getting up at 6, then you need to assume the kids need at least 9 hours of sleep (MINIMUM!!) so they should be in bed by 9pm, at the very latest.  You could even send them to bed at 8pm and allow them an hour of quiet reading.  You and dh can stay up until 10-11pm, depending on how much sleep you need (for most people that's at least 7 hours). 

 

I know, it probably sounds like very early hours to you.  But you will get accustomed to it (or whatever hours you choose, those were just examples).  You will be tired at the right time if you get up early enough.  It will take quiet a bit of time to adjust.  I wouldn't try to do it all at once.  You'll fix your bedtime by moving your waking time.  So if you are getting up at 10am right now, try getting up at 9:30 for the next week or two.  You should find yourself getting tired a bit earlier.  Also, don't look at computer/TV screens for at LEAST an hour before your desired bedtime.  They really mess up your circadian rhythms.   After a week or two of getting up earlier, move your waking time back another half an hour and wait another week or two.  Keep repeating that until you get to the wake up time that you are aiming for.  Also, once you hit the time you are aiming for, get up and go to bed at the same time everyday.

 

If you can't (won't) do that.  At least do the housework after dh goes to bed or before he gets home.  It's really not fair to him to make his relaxation time into work time.  There are also good, practical reasons to get on a more typical schedule.  The world runs on that schedule and you will have more time during the business day to get things done (IMO, the only decent time to take a doctor's appt is first thing, before something can happen for the office get behind).

 

Also, I tell you all of this as someone who for decades, literally, thought that I was "naturally a night person" (I now no longer believe there is such a thing) and finally got my body clock/chemistry straight and regularly get up by 6:30am.  I would have sworn it was impossible, but once I got straight, it was easy to maintain. 

 

 

[Hikin' Mama]

Some people (not me) think getting up early is a virtue. I personally think what you do in your waking hours is more important than what time you get up/go to bed. And I'm not a late riser so I'm not defending my own habits.

[TranquilMind]

Yup. I hear a lot of people (somewhat proudly) exclaim : "We are early risers" as if it were a positive character trait. I don't stand around exclaiming: "I work till midnight and sleep till 8" even though sometimes I want to...really badly.  :)

I sometimes joke, "I get more done after 9 p.m. than you do all day". 

 

I used to feel badly about our entirely opposite temperaments and schedules, but I don't anymore.  Between us, someone is up nearly round the clock and that was great when our kids were little.

Now that I'm older though - just as my Mom told me would happen - I find I need less and less sleep.  So while I used to go to bed at 1 or 2 and sleep until noon, now I"m up at 9 a.m.  I can't seem to even stay in bed past 8 hours or so.  Some day, I will probably be like my Mom, and go to sleep at 9 or 10 and wake up at 3 a.m.!  I can't imagine it, but it happened to her. 

[PeacefulChaos]

I'll throw another wrench in (not because I'm trying to be difficult lol)...

 

We are out on Wednesday nights til 9pm easily.  I work until 8 on the nights I work - no big deal, really - that's pretty early in my book, though if we moved the kids' bedtime up it would interfere.  During the musicals we don't get home until 10 sometimes.  Sometimes we're just out late.  I don't want to create a life where we can't do that.  That's actually one of the things that makes me really glad my kids are getting older - not having to worry about missing bedtimes and messing up their schedule the way that it happens with little kids.

 

 

Also, I didn't mention that while I don't feel tired until really really late, I can easily fall asleep at any time.  

Seriously.  Any time.  Any place.  So I don't worry about that part at all.  :D

[TammyS]

I'll throw another wrench in (not because I'm trying to be difficult lol)...

 

We are out on Wednesday nights til 9pm easily.  I work until 8 on the nights I work - no big deal, really - that's pretty early in my book, though if we moved the kids' bedtime up it would interfere.  During the musicals we don't get home until 10 sometimes.  Sometimes we're just out late.  I don't want to create a life where we can't do that.  That's actually one of the things that makes me really glad my kids are getting older - not having to worry about missing bedtimes and messing up their schedule the way that it happens with little kids.

 

 

Also, I didn't mention that while I don't feel tired until really really late, I can easily fall asleep at any time.  

Seriously.  Any time.  Any place.  So I don't worry about that part at all.   :D

 

In your first post your mentioned that your alarm goes off 4-5 times.  In the post above you mention that you can fall asleep anytime, anywhere.  That sounds like you aren't getting enough sleep.

 

Since you value the ability to stay out late some of the time, how about try making 9am your wake up, everyday, and see how that is?  That means you could stay up until 1am and still get 8 hours of sleep. 

[wintermom]

I think you reason too much. I was totally sold on the first two lines of the OP. "Sleeping in" can be considered an intentional schedule that starts at a specific time. Isn't that part of the beauty of homeschooling? We get to set our own hours of work time.

[PeacefulChaos]

In your first post your mentioned that your alarm goes off 4-5 times.  In the post above you mention that you can fall asleep anytime, anywhere.  That sounds like you aren't getting enough sleep.

 

Since you value the ability to stay out late some of the time, how about try making 9am your wake up, everyday, and see how that is?  That means you could stay up until 1am and still get 8 hours of sleep. 

 

I got voted 'Most Likely to Sleep Through Life' my senior year in high school.

 

Apparently I'm really, really good at sleeping.  I know I really, really like sleep.  :lol: :lol:

[SKL]

Yes, I think it has a stigma.  Recently I read something that convinced me there is something to "early to bed, early to rise..." scientifically.  Darned if I can remember the source or details now.

 

That said, I have always been a night owl.  It has caused problems for me.  My mom was the same way.  I have tried all sorts of ways to change it, all in vain.  I wish I could believe it didn't matter.

[sbgrace]

I do think there is a stigma. I also think people are "hard wired" for their sleep schedule. You can force yourself to change, but it won't ever be natural. It is also easy to undo your change on any given week-end or vacation so that you have to start from scratch to go back against your internal clock. That has been my experience.

[wintermom]

I got voted 'Most Likely to Sleep Through Life' my senior year in high school.

 

Apparently I'm really, really good at sleeping.  I know I really, really like sleep.   :lol: :lol:

 

My third child is an amazing sleeper! I love him for it. It made homeschooling possible that first year. Sadly, it lulled me into a feeling of strength as a parent and we went for baby #4. He was NOT a great sleeper.

 

I support all sleeping. I just wish I could do it a little better. These dang hormones are throwing off my usual schedule of 10 hours of great sleep.

[SKL]

I got voted 'Most Likely to Sleep Through Life' my senior year in high school.

 

Apparently I'm really, really good at sleeping.  I know I really, really like sleep.   :lol: :lol:

 

I've always wished sleeping was an Olympic sport.  I'd have a chance then.

[JonesinIndiana]

As a teenager I stayed up late and slept late whenever I could since I went to public school. I was/am the youngest of 6 and even today, 35 years later, there are comments about me sleeping late NOW! If I sleep late now it is 7:30am which is about what my siblings do but the perception is still from when I was a teenager. My sister and husband are amazed at the comments from my parents and other siblings about my supposed sleeping late whenever we get together.

 

My husband starts work early about 6am with a 35 minute commute. I like to be on a similar schedule so that we can enjoy all the time we can together when he is home. I work 2 days a week that require me to be up at 5 am so I can drop off the girls and get to work on time at 7:30. I enjoy the other days I "sleep in" till 7. ;)

[Rosie_0801]

From what I've read, our bodies make most of our serotonin between dawn and two hours after, so it is healthier in that way for women to stay up late and sleep in. Women are prone to serotonin deficiency. On the other hand, men are prone to dopamine deficiency and our bodies make most of that between 10pm and midnight, so they are the ones who ought to be tucked up early.

[SproutMamaK]

Yes, there is a stigma.

 

I'm a night owl, but I've changed my sleep patterns in the past when our schedules demanded it. (Ie, when our older children went to a brick & mortar school.) It was horrible and was honestly a big contributor to me wanting to homeschool. I cannot sleep before a certain time... I just lie in bed with my brain whirring for HOURS. No, if I wake up at 6am I will not be "tired enough to go to sleep earlier." I'll go to sleep at the same time as always and just be miserable. It would take me 5 hours to try to accomplish in the early morning what I can do in an hour late at night.

 

I'm still a little defensive about it if you can't tell. ;) I hate that people equate "night owl" with "lazy". Imagine if we judged early risers by their ability to get things done at 1am?

[Mandylubug]

We are night owls. We actually go for our evening jogs at 8pm till 9pm. Then go grocery shopping from 9 to 10pm...you'd think we were heathens by the gasps when people hear how late we allow the kids etc.

 

Family has learned I won't answer the phone before 10am. School days starts around 1pm.. We changed our schedule to meet DHs. Even off days midweek and we have come to love it. There is a stigma and I have decided I don't care what other's think :p

[Mandylubug]

I do my best cleaning starting at 10pm. I'm ALWAYS loading dishes at midnight.

[SierraNevada]

We struggle with this something terrible. DH has an insanely early work schedule. DS and I can't get to sleep as early as DH needs to-- not even close in the summer. I need as much sleep as my six year old-and have always had high sleep NEEDS. I literally get brain fog and can't function on anything less than a full eight, but nine is better. It makes getting up early hard. We miss a lot of those early morning play dates and events. But we catch up with our night owl friends and after most kids are in bed, we are at the playground. What really suffers is DH and DW time. I'd like to make it easier for him-- but is have to be putting DS to bed at six to make time for him to wind down and sleep at a husband schedule reasonable time. Just can't happen. It is rough.

[SadieMarie]

From what I've read, our bodies make most of our serotonin between dawn and two hours after, so it is healthier in that way for women to stay up late and sleep in. Women are prone to serotonin deficiency. On the other hand, men are prone to dopamine deficiency and our bodies make most of that between 10pm and midnight, so they are the ones who ought to be tucked up early.

 

This explains so much about my marriage.

[Pawz4me]

Yes, I do think there's a stigma.  I think it's a shame, because all of us are at least to some extent slaves to our own body clocks.  And I say that as someone who's naturally a (very) early morning person.  I've thought many times that it must be difficult for night owls, because our world really is geared more to morning people, with most jobs and schools starting around 8:00 a.m.  I have great sympathy for those who are night owls and have to deal with having to rise early.  By 4:00 p.m. I'm getting pretty useless, and by 8:00 p.m. I feel like I've lost about 100 IQ points.  Truly, my brain seems to turn to mush.  I imagine night owls who have to function early in the morning feel something similar.  But it seems much more acceptable for people like me to go to bed early than it is for night owls to sleep in.

[myfunnybunch]

I think so, a little. I stopped joking with non-homeschoolers that the reason my dh was finally sold on homeschooling was because I told him we wouldn't have to get up so early in the morning. People took that one a little too seriously.

 

In my family, sleeping late was seen almost as a character flaw. My father has always been an early riser. I have always been a night owl. When I was in college, I worked the late shift almost every night, closed the restaurant, studied, went to bed around 2 a.m., and got up at 9 for my first class at 10. He used to call me at 6 a.m. because he was up and working, so I should be too. I finally got it through to him when I said, "I take a full-time load at the university and work 30 hours a week. I don't call you at 1 a.m. because I am still up and working and think you should be too." GAH.

 

Cat

[DragonFaerie]

I do think there is a stigma. I also think people are "hard wired" for their sleep schedule. You can force yourself to change, but it won't ever be natural. It is also easy to undo your change on any given week-end or vacation so that you have to start from scratch to go back against your internal clock. That has been my experience.

 

Me, too.  I have been able to force myself to conform, but give me one weekend day, and I'm right back to staying up late and sleeping in late. 

 

From what I've read, our bodies make most of our serotonin between dawn and two hours after, so it is healthier in that way for women to stay up late and sleep in. Women are prone to serotonin deficiency. On the other hand, men are prone to dopamine deficiency and our bodies make most of that between 10pm and midnight, so they are the ones who ought to be tucked up early.

 

Good to know!  I've always said I seem to get my best sleep between 4 or 5 am and 9 or so.  Now I know why.

[Kalmia]

In the international business climate it is a benefit to be a night owl. My husband regularly has Skype meetings and phone calls with his coworkers in India at 1 or 2 am US time. When we lived in India we found that people rarely arrived at work before 10 am (though that might have something to do with the traffic!)  I noticed this late start to the workday when we lived in NYC too. Most people straggled into work between 9:30 and 10:30 am. Of course NYC has nightlife which my coworkers partook of, heavily. Where we are now everything is closed at 8 pm. Most people arrive at work at the unholy hour of 8 am. I do find it very annoying that I am not able to shop at night like I was in NY. It was so much easier and quieter to go grocery shopping at 11 pm.

 

My husband and I are both natural night owls as are our children. I don't even feel awake until 3 or 4 pm and am most productive and happy between that time and 2 am. However we can adapt some to deal with early morning requirements and will have to when ds begins brick and mortar high school in the fall. However, I always make appointments I have control of for 1 pm or later. No need to stress myself out.

 

People do associate late rising with laziness, but I think they also associate night people with creativity which is not such a bad thing!

 

 

 

 

[Seasider]

I would love to redevelop the habit of being an early riser; when my oldest kids were younger, I did it, despite being a natural night owl.

 

However, in my own experience, I have found it much more profitable lately to possess the ability to be awake, rational and conversant between 10pm and 1am, which is, almost without fail, when my teens come up with serious deep thoughts and questions about life.

 

I'm not skeered of the UPS man. This board is proof that he's caught more mommas than me in their pjs at 11am.

[mamaraby]

Yes, but imo it's a silly stigma. Not everyone works 8-5 M-F.

[Seasider]

Oh, regarding the stigma - yes, it's there. There have been a few folks in my life I'd like to invite to come walk a mile in my shoes and see how early they get up! Working at night, and overnight, at a demanding job certainly can make the next day begin slowly.

[Seasider]

From what I've read, our bodies make most of our serotonin between dawn and two hours after, so it is healthier in that way for women to stay up late and sleep in. Women are prone to serotonin deficiency. On the other hand, men are prone to dopamine deficiency and our bodies make most of that between 10pm and midnight, so they are the ones who ought to be tucked up early.

I have read this, too, and believe it to be true. My dh is an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy, so he gets great sleep. I'm pretty sure he believes if I followed the same sleep schedule, I'd feel as good as he does first thing in the am. I told him about this research, but I think he's not buying it.

[Liz CA]

I have read this, too, and believe it to be true. My dh is an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy, so he gets great sleep. I'm pretty sure he believes if I followed the same sleep schedule, I'd feel as good as he does first thing in the am. I told him about this research, but I think he's not buying it.

 

And more proof why we need to stay up longer and sleep longer. Dh is also an early bird and does not stay up past 10p.m. very often.

It's all coming together now....:)

[JBJones]

Yes, I do think there is a stigma. DH works a late shift and we stay up later and get up later. We are by no means lazy, but I've gotten some strange looks, so I don't really mention it anymore. LOL

[wintermom]

I honestly think that people's work and school situations are so varied now, that there is not longer a specific time that "people should be awake."  Our local school start times are dictated by school bus schedules so that the same bus can do runs for two different schools. Many offices have flexible start and finish times, and/or many staff working from home, so there is no set time when everyone begins work. Universities offer many evening classes for students who have daytime jobs. There are loads of shift workers in every kind of profession.

 

Anyone who claims someone should be awake by a certain time either doesn't know that person's particular situation, is annoyed because their later sleep somehow effects them, or they are jealous and wish they could sleep in later.

[Seasider]

Anyone who claims someone should be awake by a certain time either doesn't know that person's particular situation, is annoyed because their later sleep somehow effects them, or they are jealous and wish they could sleep in later.

Amen!

[Amy in NH]

I have found that, yes, there is.  Even if you are doing important things all night that most people might do in the morning, people somehow believe that getting up late = lazy.

[jmama]

Well, this thread has made me feel way less guilty about our schedule :001_smile:  We are all night owls, which is just one of the many reasons that homeschooling works for us.

[Guest submarines]

We are night owls in our family, so we all go to bed late and get up late.

 

But I have to admit that I don't advertise it to the people I know, either, because most of them are very early-risers, and I have a feeling they would think we were lazy for getting up late. In the end, we are up for more hours of the day than they are, though!

 

I go to bed pretty close to the time when many people are getting up in the morning.

 

We are night owls. I don't mind telling people I know that one of the perks of homeschooling is to be able to do art projects at 2 am, take trips to the beach in the middle of the night,  and to leisurely sleep in until noon.

 

Except for when we have to be somewhere at 9am, like tomorrow, and we are all acting chaotically now. lol But it is still worth it.

 

I haven't encountered any negative attitudes anywhere else, except on this board.

[Seasider]

See now I don't know anyone who poo poo's late rising for a second or third shifter. The issue seems to be with people who keep fairly normal work hours but slug about. I'd definitely be sleeping in if I were working that schedule, too, and when I used to work into the late night I didn't wake until noon or two, for my shift that began at 4 pm. Then I stayed up until 2-4 am. It was just how it had to be.

If I were a normal second or third shifter I think folks would be more understanding. However, I work in event management and the schedule is variable, but often into wee hours. Makes for an erratic sleep schedule.

 

Also, I have actually worked full overnights 4pm-10am. That messes with more than just the next day!

[VeteranMom]

I think there is a stigma (to sleeping late).  I am a night owl, too, and have tried and tried to change things.  It's in my nature, though, so I have quit.  Most people hold 8-5 jobs and I think that if I tell someone who keeps those hours that I didn't get up until 9, they'd judge me.  I don't really think it's fair, though, since I don't judge them for going to bed at 10 p.m.  I get just as much done, but during different hours.

ETA- My neighbor thinks I am a lazy person, because I keep different hours.  I complained about her dog barking and waking me up at 7:00 in the morning.  She was long gone to work.  She was pretty nasty and told me "it must be nice" to sleep that late.    

 

[jewellsmommy]

Most definitely there is a stigma. I have experienced it my whole life from other people. I was born to and raised by a night owl. I married a night owl, and we produced a night owl who is oblivious to sound, any and all sounds :lol: .  My mom says that there was more than one Christmas morning that she got tired of waiting on me and woke me up. This has happened with our dd too.

 

It is because of this stigma that I developed my 'special skill' that dh marvels at and is envious of. I can answer the phone out of a dead sleep after just a few hours of sleep and sound as though I have been awake and active for hours. :lol:  My dh complains that he can't sound that awake even after he's been awake and working for hours. I got so tired of hearing, "Were you sleeping!? It's already 9. Aren't your kids up yet?" I haven't had to hear that in years now, unless I want you to know that you woke me. :tongue_smilie: The door is a different scenario. I can't seem to make myself look awake, especially as I get older.

 

 

[mommymilkies]

Yes, there is.  I have been a night owl and late riser my entire life.  I think I saw an article about it being a genetic disposition?  

 

Anyway, people always try to give me advice but it never works.  Even if I go to bed at 9 pm, I will not rouse until after 9 am and I am extremely productive and awake after 6 pm. Exercise, diet, supplements, sleep regimens, meditation, you name it-none work.  I am just wired that way.  I try to force myself into rising earlier so I feel like a more accepted member of society and I just fail every time.  My dh does not understand it all, but I really can't help it.  

[fraidycat]

Thanks to this thread, I feel like less of a "failure at life" because I've never been able to "train myself" into being an early riser.

 

So thank you night owls! I don't feel so alone now!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

There is definitely a stigma.  Just note the number of helpful early risers who gave advice on how to change to an earlier sleep cycle, even though the OP didn't ask.  It is bred into us from birth, I think.  Well, I'm 51 years old, and I am a night owl.  I am able to shift my sleep schedule if needed, but I automatically shift back when it's no longer needed.  Ds is like me (he's down doing pull-ups as we speak -- at 10:50pm).  :o)  The rest of the family has been sleeping for two hours.  

[KungFuPanda]

I sleep 8-9 hours. I'm awake doing stuff the rest of the time. The clock doesn't interest me unless there's an appointment. I'm not chronically late. I'm not sure anything else matters. Some nights I have dance classes that start at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.! School will start soon and I'll wake to find my high schooler has been gone for an hour :-)

 

I will warn homeschoolers of elementary kids that the days of finishing school in half a 'school day' ARE numbered. There's also the issue of getting a little sun on your face in the winter, but I've never had trouble working these things out.

 

I went to public school and was in the Army. I CAN function with an earlier schedule, but it's not something I CHOOSE when I can pick any schedule I want.

[Shellydon]

I have found in my life that people who are early risers get more done, are generally more financially successful, and are more even-tempered.  There are quite a few articles that say that early risers are happier, more successful etc.  So, while the adage 'early to bed early to rise' is an old one, current psychology studies seems to support the idea.  The night owls in my life would dispute that, but then, they've never tried being an early bird, so they don't know if they'd be happier or more successful.  

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201208/early-risers-are-happier-healthier-and-more-productive-night-owls

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/17/the-first-thing-these-suc_n_3588482.html