Just Because You're a Morning Person Doesn't Make You Better Than Me

I've never been a morning person. Not as a kid and not now. The start of my day is filled with back-to-back alarms (snoozed, of course). And once I'm awake, all I can think about is going back to bed.

Morning workouts? Forget it. I'll truly never understand anyone who can take a 6 a.m. workout class. And believe me, I've tried to be one of these people, but I simply don't have the energy — even with multiple cups of coffee.

I'm the type of person who naturally wakes up around 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. if I can help it — which is a vast improvement from my days of rising and shining in the literal afternoon when I was in high school, college, and even post-grad. And before you call me lazy, hear me out: You're not better than me because you enjoy being awake before the sun comes up.

Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, clinical associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and author of "The Women's Guide to Overcoming Insomnia".

It's not my 100 percent fault that I'm not a morning person. There's a genetic predisposition for circadian clocks (sleep-wake schedule), according to Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, clinical associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and author of "The Women's Guide to Overcoming Insomnia". "If you had a family member who tended toward a specific sleep-wake timing, you're more likely to do that as well," she says. I can confirm this to be true: My mom prefers staying up late to waking up early, just like I do.

However, your genetic predisposition doesn't necessarily lock you into a specific sleep schedule forever. A 2023 study in Chronobiology International found that your chronotype (your body's natural inclination to sleep and wake) can be influenced by consistent behavior. For instance, if you're a student who identifies as a night owl but your first class consistently starts at 7 a.m., you may become a morning person over time.

If you do want to become a morning person, changing your schedule is possible, but it takes a lot of work and consistency, Dr. Harris says — and your body will want to naturally go back to its original schedule whenever given the chance. "If you struggle with going to sleep earlier but are forcing yourself to wake up earlier and your body just isn't adjusting, you risk becoming more sleep deprived, which can then negatively impact your mental and physical health," she says. (More on that soon!)

There's so much content out there about how to become a morning person, the benefits of morning workouts, the list goes on. You've probably also seen the TikTok trend where people vlog their 5-to-9 before their 9-to-5 in an attempt to brag about the fact that they're productive at 5 a.m.

And let's not forget the classic saying, "the early bird catches the worm." Not to mention, work supervisors who identify as morning people tend to rate employees who identify as night owls as poor performers, even when they aren't, according to the Australian HR Institute.

It's clear society values and rewards morning people. And Dr. Harris agrees. "People are thought to essentially have more motivation and do more with their day when they get up early — they're thought of as achieving more with their day," Dr. Harris says. "The reality is that this is quite a toxic way of thinking of sleep patterns, and there's no evidence that one schedule is better than another, provided it works for you in your life."

In fact, there are many people who wake up early to get in their workouts or be productive, but in reality, they're still going to bed late and aren't regularly getting enough sleep, Dr. Harris says. This can be problematic in the long run. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, consistent sleep deficiency can lead to health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.

Waking up early to do a workout, for instance, is typically seen as superior to someone who chooses to sleep in and do their workout later in the day. But the reality is, in both scenarios the workout gets done. The early-morning exerciser isn't an inherently better person than the one who breaks a sweat after work. This can be said for any activity. As long as you find time in your day to do the things you value, why does it matter when you do it?

It's important to lean into your natural circadian preference if you're able to do so, as it can be extremely freeing, according to Dr. Harris. "I can't tell you how many people I've worked with over the years who try to fight against it because of the shaming from society and others, but when they let it go, they do so much better," she says. "The key, though, is that it works in your life. If it doesn't, then you want to see treatment to help adjust it."

So, if you're anything like me and prefer waking up and going to bed a bit later than your early bird friends and family, take this as a sign to lean into that. You're not a worse person for enjoying sleeping in, I promise.

Danielle Zicklis a freelance writer who has 10 years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. You can find her work here on PS, and in many other publications including Self, Well+Good, Runner's World, Outside Run, Peloton, Women's Health, and Men's Fitness.