The Life of a Night Owl

In most of the research conducted over sleeping habits, 20 percent of the population are night owls. I am of this minority.

For as long I can remember, whenever midnight rolled around, and the sounds of traffic passing by my bedroom window slowed to halt, I could not find it in myself to go to sleep.

For my parents, this presented a constant struggle. I remember when I was in high school that around 11 p.m. they would always say two phrases to me: "Go to bed," and "You''ll regret it in the morning." These statements were said so often they eventually lost their meaning and I would find myself still awake, counting the hours until I had to be at school.

I kept this schedule when I entered college and there was nothing I feared more than 8 a.m. class. I recall that when most of the students living on my block had turned off their lights, mine would still be shining into the early hours of the morning, just before the sun was set to rise.

The problem is not insomnia, and those that know me well know I sleep heavier than most. Instead, my internal clock just could not grasp the idea of sleep before 3 a.m.

I have tried a normal sleep schedule in the past, but I would perpetually fall short.

One disadvantage to a night schedule is that it is hard to function in the world where most businesses adhere to the 9-5 schedule. For example, I have been wanting to get my hair cut for two weeks with no success. I tried to wake up early and go to bed earlier, but nothing worked. I would still be tired in the morning.

Besides having a disposition to the night schedule, there is a reason why I enjoy spending my free time at night rather than during the day.

In my experience, when it comes to writing or doing anything creative, my best ideas usually come to me very late in the night. If I am writing or trying to focus, I turn off every device in my apartment, except for the lights: no music, no television.

I have always done my best work when there is complete silence and no distractions.

In my experiences I have found I am able to think clearly without any noise and I came to this conclusion one night before I went to sleep.

Many people have shared the experience, that before entering into a dream, they will suddenly have an idea that will make them a millionaire.

I have found that there has been research conducted into why some of our best ideas come to us in odd places like the shower, the car, and before bed.

One scientific explanation is that throughout your day, you are constantly being bombarded with information, whether it be from your phone, email, work, family, television. All of these items are being processed in your brain, some consciously, some subconsciously. When you lie down to go to sleep, or take a shower, there is rarely any sounds and distractions. Without auditory or visual stimulation, your brain stops processing much of the incoming data.

Afterwards, the brain is then able to aptly process much of the information it received throughout the day. The brain then begins to draw connections between events and this is when creative ideas have the possibility to occur.

This principle can be applied whenever you are at work.

According to the same study, by taking breaks, you allow your mind to decompress the information on the task you are working on. By halting the incoming information, your mind can take a fresh look at whatever item you are working on.

An article by Elite Daily also compared research over sleep habits and intelligence called "Intelligent People All Have One Thing In Common: They Stay Up Later Than You."

Now I will agree that the title of this article is pompous, but it raises valid points using data from publications such as Psychology Today and Study Magazine to back up their claim.

The study that interested me was one conducted by Psychology Today.

"[The] net of a large number of social and demographic factors, more intelligent children grow up to be more nocturnal as adults than less intelligent children. Compared to their less intelligent counterparts, more intelligent individuals go to bed later on weeknights (when they have to get up at a certain time the next day) and on weekends (when they don't), and they wake up later on weekdays (but not on weekends)," according to Psychology Today.

I found these studies interesting, but do not think that just because of your sleeping habits that you will become a genius. Many intelligent people have a morning schedule, but as the article states, it is statistically more common that people who stay up later and wake up later are more apt to be intelligent.

Grant is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 19. He can also be reached via email at gkarazsia@gmail.com.