Why do most young adults develop a natural, semi-nocturnal sleeping pattern?

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To be honest, 12:00am onwards is the only time I get some time to myself. Also, it's always quiet, which means that nothing interrupts my thinking, reading, etc. I find background noise a huge distractor.

Reply 21

Craig_D

I think it's a mix of two things. Firstly the human circadian rhythm is (possibly) 25 hours, rather than 24. In other words, if you naturally got up and went to bed when you felt like it, rather than when the clock suggests, it would get an hour later every night, and young adults are supposedly the worst at being able to control this as their sleeping pattern has changed so much over just a few years as they got older. Second, I think it's somewhat a subconscious rebellion against being told to 'go to bed' in childhood; it's an emphasis of your adulthood that you can sit around at 3am with nobody able to tell you off. I often wonder if my nocturnal nature wouldn't be so bad if my parents hadn't been so strict with the time I was sent to bed as a child.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 22

IPlayThePiccolo

[QUOTE='[Shadowplay];32918104']Sometimes mine is downright non-nocturnal. :K:

I think I enjoy the calm and silence that staying up at night gives you. And there's just something about staying up all night that I can't quite put my finger on that leaves you sleeping late even if you've promised yourself you wouldn't. It's like a break in time where you don't feel the stress you would during the day I guess. And I think most teens feel that way, apart from the staying up late because of clubbing or going out.

I never go out at night but sometimes I'll stay up for ages reading or whatever and I'll be like Oh yeah it's so peaceful cos everyone's asleep and then always, without fail I'll get creeped out by the man next door walking around cos I think it's a ghost/robber and I try and fall asleep real quick.

I'm such a child.

Reply 23

Looose

I find it easier to do work after 12am, usually go to bed about 2am and then wake up 11:30 on the dot every morning, kinda feel like I'm wasting my day but at the minute my parents are at work and siblings at school so if I were to get up earlier I'd just spend it watching jezza k and this morning...

I think it must have to do with hormones or something as everyone around my age is exactly the same, unless they have an early morning start for work...

Reply 24

username240699

Yeah, I had that :frown:

Sometimes I'd stay awake until 3am not even being productive. I'm over that now, I think midnight is a decent time to sleep as I prefer to get up early.

Reply 25

-aimz

I've always been quite nocturnal, but since finishing Year 13 last month I've been up until 1-2am every night and waking up about 10am usually. I just seem to get a sudden burst of energy at about 10pm, which isn't very convenient!

Reply 26

Unknown?

It has to do with cavemen going out at night to get the good meat.

Reply 27

cloppy

Yes yes thrice yes. In my crazy youth I'd go to sleep at rediculous times and get up in the afternoon (not because I was out painting the town red though, more like reading and listening to music and general fannying about). It used to get later and later and I'd feel really bad about it, especially when it got to the point that I'd still be awake as my dad was getting up for work. Hard cycle to get out of.

These days I still feel inclined to stay up as late as possible, but I am strict and try to be reasonable about it. Though, at weekends I work untill 1am which puts a bit of a spanner in the works.

Reply 28

Nightstar-27

Well personally I always had this nocturnal sleeping pattern and I have friends this age who are such morning people it scares me but I remember reading a book stating some reasons for it. I can't remember them clearly but they were;
1) More likely to be depressed.
2) The 'sleep- hormone' being produced later.
3) Social- all the interesting stuff happens at night.
4) Tribal- some members of society sleep later to keep guard.

Reply 29

WeekendOffender

This "semi-nocturnal" pattern has been my way of sleeping since I was about 12. I'm now 17 and when I need/want to get up early or go to bed late, I can. But if I had nothing to do, my choice would be to go to bed at about 3am and wake up at about noon on a daily basis.