A chronic misalignment of the body’s circadian rhythms with the daily light-dark cycle of our environment. The phrase “night owl” doesn’t really do it justice; my natural bedtime is around 6 a.m.
Same. I am most alert between midnight to 4AM, generally. Going to sleep when the sun rises suits me best by far. Luckily, I don’t seem to need as much sleep as normal people and that helps me compensate for my odd hours.
According to conventional wisdom, going to bed early and waking up with the birds is a mere matter of habit and will power. This misconception is widespread, even among doctors.
For months, more than once, I’ve tried to force myself to go to bed at 11PM and get up at a so-called normal time. What invariably happens is that I sleep for 1-2 hours or not at all, and don’t go back to sleep until 6AM or so. This is true no matter how assiduously I follow this plan.
Unlike the writer, I don’t see it as a disorder. There is nothing wrong with me. In fact, all of you are lucky you’ve handicapped me by making weird daylight hours be de rigeur, as in the night I am twice as smart and capable as I am diurnally. Without that restriction, I’d probably be galactic overlord by now.