The lark advantage: why naturally early risers are happier than night owls | Health & well-being
Last name: The advantage of the lark.
Age: Suspected for years, but recently ratified.
Appearance: Happy, lively, ready to go.
Ugh, what is this garbage now? Hi friend! If you could be so nice, could you tell me what time you woke up on this wonderful day?
I don’t know, 10am? Too early, anyway. Well, old man, have you ever thought of getting up at dawn?
Get moving. Now, now, there is no need to be cranky about it. What if I told you that scientists have found that people who get up early in the morning tend to be happier and better protected against depression?
Is that so? What time did you wake up today? Why, I was wide awake at 5am, and I must say that …
Get moving. But there is scientific evidence to back it up. Jessica O’Loughlin, lead author of a study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, asked more than 450,000 middle-aged people about their sleep preferences. Those who woke up earlier tended to report fewer cases of depression and anxiety.
Why? Because they don’t fight nature by deviating from natural arousal patterns, idiot! Meanwhile, those of you who stay up late tend to just feel bad the next day. It’s a form of jet lag, and it can make you miserable.
Well, this is depressing. Of course yes ! You wake up too late.
You won’t be leaving until I wake up earlier, will you? Nope.
Alright, so how do you do it? You can not.
What? The time you wake up each morning is written in your DNA. The University of Exeter has discovered 351 genetic variants that determine the time of wakefulness. Those with early bird genetic profiles were 8% less depressed than others.
I hate that. I woke up at five this morning! Five hours ! Phew!
Why did you wake up so early? I have young children! They won’t let me sleep later! The other day I was awake at half past four. Imagine!
Would you like to be able to sleep later? That bad ! My eye has been twitching involuntarily for 18 months now. Can we exchange?
No. WHY DON’T MY EYE STOP TWITCHER?
Say: “Morning people are generally happier people.”
Do not say : “This is exactly why they are so boring.”