Techie Sleep Tips 1: Cut Night Owl Habits & Reduce Daytime Stress

Many of us know the obvious negative effects of not getting enough sleep.  Then there's the lesser understood quality of sleep.  One specific factor of this quality I've been more curious about lately is the case of being a night owl. It seems pretty obvious that technology influences this habit for more people now with internet social media connected 24-7 and essentially so much to do besides sleeping. Being a full time college student with five classes, homework, twenty hours of work, and social life can certainly make this habit harder to avoid, but it's still not impossible to change.  So I looked into some reasons why I along with many should probably take care in reducing our night owl habits.


Think about it - it's obvious that when we go to sleep later, we also have to finish up our sleep while everyone else wakes up.  A night owl's last few hours of sleep are generally exposed to more noise and light than earlier risers.  This wouldn't be a problem if everyone had a night owl schedule but they clearly don't.  Unless you live in a house in the middle of nowhere with night owls (or no one) and dark drapes, your night owl sleep could be getting more interruptions than you think.  Several studies have discovered that those who generally went to bed after midnight also shared unusually higher arterial stiffening which raises the risk of heart disease.  Those who went to bed before midnight had much less (if any) arterial issues.  Getting between 6-8 hours didn't effect these results either - going to bed past midnight was the problem.  However, those who slept less than 5 hours were at a 40% greater risk of heart disease as well.  Getting the right quality and quantity are both necessary to loosen the arteries and probably relax more in the day with smoother blood circulation.

Wikipedia: Sleep Deprivation

As for the mental side effects,  I think it's safe to say that less sleep leaves one with less focus, mental alertness, and less control of emotions because of this fatigue.  It makes sense that chronic fatigue could lead to a depression over being less able to engage in life because of this lack of energy.  What's really interesting is how depression and many sleep disorders share a lot of the same symptoms. These sleep problems include: sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorder (seasonal affective disorder), and general insomnia. Perhaps taking the challenge of not being a night owl for a few weeks could produce some interesting personal results in our daily lives.  For those who have physical ailments that make it less possible to obtain good quality sleep,  I say continue the battle against them to reduce these conflicts. Whether if it requires medications, new exercises, lifestyle changes - continue to reduce them.  As for how our day effects our sleep, Leonardo da Vinci once said, "A well-spent day brings happy sleep."  Perhaps we can counter a downward spiral of being a night owl with an upward spiral of being an early riser.

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