When the clocks go back and we gain an extra hour, it might seem like a welcome bonus. But not for everyone. Night owls, those who naturally prefer to stay up late and get up late, often find this time of year particularly difficult.

The explanation lies in the science of our internal clocks.

Chronotypes are our natural preference to wake up and go to sleep at certain times, whether you’re an early bird who bursts out of bed at dawn or a night owl who comes to life in the evening.

This variation is partly geneticand it also influences our body’s natural rhythms such as release of hormones and body temperature fluctuations. During the day, the hormone cortisol increases to help us feel alert and energized, while another sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, is produced more in the evening. Similarly, our body temperature fluctuates, generally peaking in the late afternoon and dropping during the night to facilitate sleep.

When the clocks turn back, night owls often face a double burden. Their biological rhythm is already shifted later compared to others, and the sudden change in daylight makes it more difficult to align with the social clock that dictates work and school schedules.

For night owls, the sudden change means the loss of evening daylight, when they might naturally be more alert and active. This change can exacerbate feelings of social jet lag, a state in which their internal clock is out of sync with the demands of society. Research shows that social jet lag is associated with increased stress, lower mood and even health effects that poorer cardiovascular health.

If that weren’t enough, those with an evening chronotype tend to have a harder time adjusting to sudden changes in sleep patterns. Their melatonin (the hormone that signals it’s time to sleep) is released later in the evening. When daylight savings time ends, this delay can lead to an even greater misalignment between their internal clock and their environment.

Research from people living in the polar regionswhere there is very little natural light for several months of the year, reveals how sensitive our sense of time is to exposure to light. A study 2020 The crew at Argentina’s Belgrano II Antarctic Station measured their time estimate in the range of seconds to minutes at five different times of the year. People’s perception of time was found to be less accurate in winter due to the lack of natural light and the social isolation and isolation that came with living at the station.

Research in polar regions provides information on how different chronotypes adapt to extreme daylight conditions. For example, some studies have shown that people with morning chronotypes tend to adapt better to the prolonged light of polar summers, maintaining more stable sleep patterns and mental health. Those with evening chronotypes often struggle with the long periods of darkness in polar winters, leading to greater sleep disturbances and mood disturbances.

These insights not only have the potential to improve the quality of life for people in such settings, but could also be critical in future space exploration, where adapting to unique time cues will be essential.

Dark moods and lack of light

This struggle isn’t just about feeling tired. It affects productivity, mental health and life satisfaction. Studies suggest that people with later chronotypes they are more vulnerable to seasonal affective symptoms when the days get shorter. This may be because night owls are more likely to be deprived of the morning light that helps regulate circadian rhythms.

The morning light is particularly important for regulating circadian rhythms because it contains a higher amount of blue light, which is the most effective wavelength for stimulating the body’s cortisol production and suppressing melatonin. Exposure to natural morning light also helps reset your internal clock.

Night owls often face practical challenges that early birds may not fully appreciate. The misalignment between their natural sleep patterns and the demands of traditional work or school schedules can lead to chronic sleep deprivation. This struggling to adapt at an early schedule can affect cognitive performance, decision-making, and productivity. Studies have found that night owls are more likely to encounter difficulties metabolic health (processing of foods such as fat and sugar), which can be linked to irregular sleep-wake patterns.

Night owls may also have a harder time reaping the benefits of morning activities that can help improve mood and well-being. Activities such as exercising outdoors in natural light are particularly effective in regulation circadian rhythms. That’s why the night owls who miss it the morning light they may not get the same benefits from evening activities. This lack of alignment with societal norms can lead to feelings of isolation or being misunderstood. By recognizing and validating these differences, we can begin to create environments that support the needs of different chronotypes.

The challenges that night owls face when the clocks turn back highlights how our society’s rigid schedules don’t always match the diversity of human biology. Recognizing these differences can be a first step towards supporting people whose internal clocks do not align with the norm, either through flexible working hours, turn on therapy or simply greater awareness of chronotype differences.

This article is republished from conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read on original article.