Mornings are in your mind

Some people say that they are morning people. I refuse to believe them.

“Morning people,” as the concept is usually considered, does not exist. Since the beginning of time, people have worked on one basic schedule: stay awake when there is light. The invention of things-that-make-light-other-than-the-Sun put a serious dent in what one might call our “natural sleep pattern.”

I, for example, am happily typing away in a well-light room at approximately 3am. The moment I shut off the computer, turn out my light, and crawl in to bed, I’ll probably fall instantly asleep. This is because there will be no light.

People who say they “don’t work well” at night are simply not living in well-lit situations. People who think that they work better in the morning don’t have enough curtains.

Otherwise, what sense would it make for people in different parts of the world to be awake at different times? It’s 11am in England. The only difference between those happy “morning” people and myself is that they’ve got real light whereas I’ve got six light bulbs, of which only four are working.