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Night Owls Out of Synch
Are you getting plenty of sleep, yet have great difficulty getting up in the morning and do not really feel awake for most of the day? You may be a night owl who is �desynchronized.�

We all have a natural circadian rhythm which dictates our daily schedule for sleeping and waking. Many night owls are attuned to this natural rhythm and, through experience, have found that they cannot maintain well-being along with being at work early in the morning. Many others, however, unaware that they are naturally night owls, try to maintain an early bird schedule and as a result, become desynchronized.

Are you a night owl out of synch?

Do you -

• Have difficulty waking in the morning?
• Feel tired when you wake?
• Sleep a sufficient number of hours yet feel tired all day?
• Nap after work because you are so tired?
• Start to feel awake later in the evening?
• Force yourself to go to bed early in an effort to wake up early?
• Have difficulty getting to sleep when you go to bed early?
• �Crash� or sleep much later than usual on the weekend?
• Feel depressed?
• Often have headaches? Appetite problems?

If you answered �yes� to most of these statements, and all other sleep disorders and physical and emotional conditions have been ruled out, then you may be a desynchronized night owl. The simplest and most enduring solution is to change both your work and sleep schedule. Though you may think this is impossible, you may be surprised to find that there is more flexibility and openness to such a solution than you may have thought possible. Consider offering to work later and frame this as a business advantage. Or partner with other employees who would be happy to work earlier if you covered the later portion of their schedule.