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Mar 28, 2008 6:45 am US/Central
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Good Question: Why Do We Have Different Bedtimes?
(WCCO)
Some people love to stay up late while others are early birds and wake up before the sun is up. So what does your bedtime say about you?
The hour that we generally rise and shine, and then later cuddle up and crash, plays a big role in how we see ourselves and how others see us. However, what's surprising is that we really don't have a lot of say in the matter.
"Sometimes there are things that we can do, but we have to keep in mind that the time that we go to bed and the time we wake up in the morning in many ways is genetically-determined and pre-programmed within us," said Dr. Michel Cramer-Bornemann, a sleep expert at the Minnesota Sleep Disorders Center.
Cramer-Bornemann said a person's sleeping pattern can be genetic, just like the color of our eyes is genetic.
"The color of our eyes, the height we are, are all genetically determined and hard wired within us and very much are sleep patterns. The time that we go to sleep and the time that we wake up, the hours that we need to sleep to feel rested the following day are all genetically-determined," he said.
Cramer-Bornemann said that roughly 10 percent of the population is on the extreme end of the sleep pattern spectrum. Half of them wake up well before the crack of dawn, while the other 5 percent routinely fall asleep after midnight, some not able to doze off until 2 or 3 a.m.
All together, that's actually a lot of people: about 320,000 folks in the Twin Cities alone.
Most of us fall into our early rising or late night ways when we are teenagers, and it doesn't change over time. What does change are the demands of work or school, schedules that conflict with our body's natural rhythms.
"I think that it's not uncommon for us to see individuals that are sleepy or fatigued at work and we see it as a character flaw or a liability, when actually they are combating something that is beyond their ability to effectively take care of," said Cramer-Bornemann.
Early birds and night owls can have happier lives by picking the right jobs. Career Builder.com looked at salaries and lists school teachers and mail carriers among the good careers for early risers. Night owls fare better as news reporters and bartenders.
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