Is it possible to become a morning person? Even if you're naturally a night owl, you can become more of a morning person by slowly shifting your sleep-wake times, getting light exposure at the right times, and maintaining good sleep hygiene to help you fall asleep earlier.
"Morning people are those who rise from sleep fairly easily and are most productive and/or active in the mornings," says Dr. Ayish "If you're a morning person, your brain is most alert in the morning, and you're generally very good at harnessing this energy and focus to get tasks, work and chores done."
Studies show that night owls and those who wake up later actually are smarter and more creative than their early rising counterparts. They also have higher IQs according to The Independent. Unfortunately, night owls have slightly lower academic scores than early risers (by about 8%).
Studies show exercise temporarily boosts alertness, in part because of the accompanying rise in body temperature and the boost of blood to the brain. One study found that a mix of caffeine, bright light and face washing with cold water helped jump-start alertness after a short nap.
Chances are, your morning grogginess is just sleep inertia, which is a normal part of the waking process. Your brain typically doesn't instantly wake up after sleeping. It transitions gradually to a wakeful state. During this transition period, you may feel groggy or disoriented.
It turns out our internal clocks are influenced by genes and are incredibly difficult to change. If you're just not a morning person, it's likely you'll never be, at least until the effects of aging kick in. And what's more, if we try to live out of sync with these clocks, our health likely suffers.
Despite these trends, the research mostly agrees that six hours of sleep is not enough for most adults. Experts recommend that most adults need at least seven hours of sleep every night.
But, being a night owl may also just be in your genes. "A recent study has actually shown that a genetic change in a gene called CRY1 is common among people who have a condition called delayed sleep phase disorder, or DSPD," explains Dr. Ayish.
That said, science has indicated that learning is most effective between 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 10 pm, when the brain is in an acquisition mode.
Tears lubricate, nourish, and protect your eyes, and you're constantly producing tears even while asleep. Sometimes, however, your nightly tears can dry on the surface of your eyes, causing blurry, hazy vision in the morning. Blinking a few times after waking up can remoisten your cornea and get rid of blurriness.
Folks who stay up late and struggle to wake in the morning have a 10 percent higher risk of dying sooner than so-called "morning larks" who are early to bed and early to rise, said lead researcher Kristin Knutson.
Intelligent people are more likely to have different sleep cycles (or circadian rhythms) than people with a lower IQ. In fact, research indicates that there's a strong correlation between intelligence and bedtime. That is the higher your IQ, the later you'll stay up.
