Last week I was in Hawaii with my family on vacation.
Since the room got hot in the morning, I found myself waking up a lot earlier than usual—around 7:30 a.m. most days. For a few days, I’d get out and go for a walk and enjoy the beautiful Maui mornings.
As I strolled around the area, I noticed a few things—families fully set up on the beach with their umbrellas, toys, and coolers; joggers breaking a sweat, having clearly been at it for a while; and plenty of people grabbing coffee and chatting with each other.
Turns out, lots of people are out and about in the world at 7:30 a.m.
Personally, if I’m not still asleep at that time, the only thing I want to do is drink coffee alone and quietly or perhaps go for a walk (alone and quietly) in a beautiful destination.
This all got me thinking and reflecting on waking up early or late, why each of us seems to be different in this regard, and what it all means for our productivity and identity.
Wolves and bears and lions oh my
You’ve probably guessed it by now… I’m not a morning person.
I’m a wolf. Which, according to the chronotype theory (your intrinsic sleep and wakefulness cycle and circadian rhythm), is another name for the classic night owl.
According to the theory, I’m at my best when I wake up around 9:00 a.m. (check) and go to bed around 12:00 a.m. (check). I’m typically my most productive from 1:00-5:00 p.m. (check).
About 15% of the population are wolves like me.
The other chronotypes are:
- Lions (15% of the population): Your classic “early bird” who operates best when waking up around 5:00 a.m., are productive between 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., and go to bed around 9:00 p.m.
- Bears (55%) of the population): These folks tend to follow the sun, with a 7:00 a.m. wake-up, 11:00 p.m. bedtime, and productive hours between 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
- Dolphins (10% of the population): Often sensitive sleepers, this group keeps irregular sleep patterns, though they may wake up around 6:00 a.m., sleep around 11:00 p.m., and find productivity between 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
I’ve masqueraded as a bear for most of my life. When I worked a nine-to-five job, I followed the typical bear schedule: I’d wake up reluctantly around 7:00 a.m., feel groggy getting into work, perk up a bit after a few coffees, and then be too tired to stay up past 11:00 p.m.
My work dictated that schedule, though.
Now that I freelance, my schedule is flexible and I rarely need to be anywhere in the morning.
So, I sleep until around 9:00 a.m. most days. It feels natural and I wake up alert-ish (unlike the stereotypical morning person who bounds out of bed full of energy, I rarely feel alert in the mornings).
The rest of my routine plays out like this: get up and have a slow breakfast with coffee, head out to the gym or for a walk, and then get started working in a cafe around 11:00 a.m. or noon. I have my most productive hours in the afternoon, and then my energy dips in time for dinner before getting a second wind in the evening. I’m usually sleeping around midnight.
Classic wolf, it appears.
And now that I’ve found this routine—which perfectly aligns with my chronotype and circadian rhythm—I’ve noticed increased productivity and more satisfaction in work.
But truth be told, I often feel guilty for sleeping in. I feel like I’m being lazy. Or at the very least, I’m just not as hardworking and ambitious as others.
The reality is that I complete my work tasks, maintain relationships, keep up with responsibilities, and live a full life.
So where does all the guilt and self-critique come from?
Untangling morality from waking up early
Even though the chronotype is backed by mounting scientific evidence that it’s biological (like this study that indicates a genetic component and this study that links it to a specific gene), the way we think about sleep and wake schedules is—in my opinion—rife with misplaced moralism and bad advice.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen “wake up early” on some influencer or public figure’s healthy habits list.
Or the inundation of “how to be successful” articles that profile famous people and CEOs who wake up at 3:30 a.m. to meditate, drink green juice, read a million pages, and start working before the suns up.
Or the over three billion Google results that came up when I searched “how to become a morning person.” (Interestingly, when I typed “how to become a night person” the same number of results came up, though the first page was about 50% articles on how to become a morning person and another 50% on night owl vs. morning person. Not a lot of people trying to become a night owl, it seems).
And, of course, the classic mantra… the early bird gets the worm.
But what if I don’t want a worm?
And what if I couldn’t catch it anyway because I’d just be too darn tired to be thinking straight and tap into my worm-catching capacities?
It’s all punctuated by this cultural belief and value system that says productive people are morning people and morning people are productive people. If you want to do more, achieve more, be more—you better get up and start working.
These beliefs are leaving a lot of people like myself to feel like they’ve somehow failed. That they need to just “try harder” to wake up early. Or maybe even that they’re just not as hard-working or smart or successful or productive.
The reality is that people are different.
We are lions and bears and wolves and dolphins. And it appears that the way we’re wired for sleep, wakefulness, and productivity is biological—it’s hard-wired into us and, therefore, has nothing to do with morality or rightness. It just is.
Where do we go from here?
Luckily the internet allows spaces for many viewpoints so there’s now more pushback against the “morning is best” attitude out there.
There are Atlantic headlines like “Down With Morning People” and gentle reminders from thinkers and authors like Adam Grant to “end the obsession with morning routines—and the shaming of those who reject them.”
There’s also a wide body of evidence about how operating outside our natural body clock has negative health consequences (Vox has a great overview of this).
I believe that all of this can help cut through the strong cultural message that productive, successful people are morning people. By learning more about our own bodies and habits and productivity, we are empowered to live more aligned and in tune with what’s best for us.
This is important for wolves to learn, yes, but also important for all people to know. No matter what chronotype you are, you can start working with your biology and set yourself up for success.
I know, too, that a lot of people do not have a flexible schedule like me. They aren’t able to sleep until 9:00 a.m. or whatever else suits them best because their job or responsibilities don’t permit it.
The reality is that most of us, whether due to school, work, family, or other commitments, will have to “train” our sleep schedule outside of a natural internal clock at some point in our lives. But with more information and knowledge, you may be able to choose differently at other times.
Maybe if you know you’re a wolf like me, you won’t schedule an early morning meeting. Or you’ll find a remote position that allows you to sleep longer. Or you’ll ask if you can shift your work hours. Or you’ll switch jobs. Or, at the very least, you’ll shake off some of the pressure to be a morning person and embrace the fact that you’re going to be tired so long as you’re operating in a lion-and-bear world.
I don’t know if I’ll have this luxury of following my wolf-like schedule forever. I may have responsibilities that require me to get up earlier in the future. And, if that happens, I’ll adjust.
But learning to embrace my natural sleep cycle has been huge for both my productivity at work and retraining myself to accept the identity of a not-a-morning person. And I consider that a win.
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