There’s a common misperception about people who go to bed later in the evening. Night owls, as they’re known, are sometimes described as being lazy, while early birds are perceived as productive.
But the reality is that the time you fall asleep doesn’t dictate how productive you are.
Dr Karen Raj, a doctor known for his health explainers and debunking myths on TikTok, believes the idea that night owls are lazy is simply not true.
“When someone is a night owl this means their body is in line with a sleeping pattern which has them go to sleep later because they feel tired later on, maybe past midnight or past 1am,” he said in a TikTok video on the topic.
Anyone who sleeps past midnight usually wakes up later – we’re talking 9, 10 or even 11am – but Dr Raj explained that this is normal.
“This is part of their normal genetics – we have clock genes and clock proteins in every cell of our body, which determines from a biological perspective what time we naturally feel tired, what time we naturally want to wake,” he said.
So essentially, if you’re falling asleep and waking up later that doesn’t mean you’re lazy, it’s just your natural body clock.
The issues night owls face are dealing with societal expectations, not biology, Dr Raj said. Especially when most jobs are focused around the hours of 9-5pm.
Not everyone has the ability to fall asleep before 11pm. Some people struggle to fall asleep whilst others (like me) would rather spend their evenings scrolling on TikTok. We all have different priorities.
So next time someone tries to shame you for being a night owl or suggests you’re lazy, you can politely tell them where to go.