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I did it! Or did I really manage to overthrow my inner night owl?

Anna Sandner
21/7/2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski

Fatigue, be gone! I slept at least eight hours every night for a week. Or at least that was the plan. My conclusion: it’s really not that easy – and there are rational reasons why not.

I absolutely love to sleep! Yet I regularly get too little rest. I’m hoping to change that for a week by getting at least eight hours of sleep each night. Let’s get into this week’s instalment of «I did it!»

Now, I’m quite limited in my methods. Throughout the week, I have to get up by 7 a.m. at the latest, so my only option is to go to bed earlier. And that’s precisely where the challenge lies. I’m a night owl. I love long evenings – especially the balmy summer kind. Going to bed early will test my self-control. And it might be futile, anyways. Sleep research shows it’s only possible to shift your own, inner sleep rhythm to a limited extent.

Be that as it may, my goal is to get to at least eight hours of sleep. A tad more would also be alright. But sleeping too long isn’t helpful either. To reach my goal, I need to be asleep by 11 p.m. at the latest. So, I’m off to bed between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. this week. That leaves me some time to fall into a slumber; After all, I don’t fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.

Sleep, here I come!

My natural sleep rhythm: late chronotype

Nights 1 to 3: it’s working!

Night 4: I’m not tired

What I just got a preview of on Night 3 really puts my experiment to the test on Night 4. I’m not tired. Now, I could think, «Great news, that means I’m getting enough sleep!» The problem? Stupidly enough, what was to come is exactly what science had predicted: my sleep rhythm would shift right back to my late chronotype. And unfortunately, that’s precisely what I can’t allow if I want to function in society.

Night 5: everyone gets to stay up late but me

The weekend: sleeping works

Sunday evening: pulling out all the stops again

Conclusion: I can’t compete with my night-owl sleeping schedule

In the future, I’ll try to find a middle ground and go to bed at least a little earlier to give myself the time to read. Spending half an hour with a book was my favourite part of the whole week. I normally hardly find the time to read – and I think it’s a better way to wind down in the evening than sitting in front of a TV screen.

Healthy habits put to a personal test

Header image: Anna Sandner

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Science editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always outside - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.


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