“Netflix and chilling” till 3 am, late-night parties, scrolling through social media hours on end, or pulling all-nighters– this correctly describes an average young adult’s everyday routine in a nutshell. 

Sleeping late is a common phenomenon, but there tend to be rulebreakers whenever there’s a prevalent lifestyle choice. Cue the dramatic drumroll – we’re talking about night-owls vs early birds. Of course, choosing an early bedtime isn’t really ‘rule-breaking’ as dealing with society’s perceptions and expectations. Read on to explore why your sleep cycle no longer seems like a personal choice.

The paradox these contradicting lifestyles present is often amusing. While the early risers are guilt-tripped for not making it to a dinner party that starts at 10 pm– which clearly is past their bedtime; the night owls seem tired of the smugness early-risers project.

So why does the bedtime matter, you ask? Well, apparently the time we go to bed says a lot about us. An intriguing dichotomy of sorts exists, where sleeping late is socially acceptable– yet poorly looked at. Similarly, you’ll find people preaching the health benefits of sleeping early and fighting FOMO (Fear of Missing Out – it’s a very real thing, trust us). 

Even real-life examples are confusing. Various studies suggest that people who wake up early are considered to become more successful in the long run. Take Oprah Winfrey, for instance– the actress swears by getting in bed no later than 11 pm and waking up by 6 am. According to an article in the Business Insider– In a study of 367 university students, biologist Christopher Randler found that “when it comes to business success, morning people hold the important card. Morning people also anticipate problems and try to minimize them, my survey showed. They’re proactive. A number of studies have linked this trait, proactivity, with better job performance, greater career success, and higher wages.” 

People associate waking up early to be a more ‘put-together’ and disciplined lifestyle choice. With the wave of conscious, picture-perfect ‘balanced’ lifestyles sweeping our social media feeds, it’s not hard to see why early-risers take a strange sense of pride in their choice of bedtime. 

Young adults face this dilemma in some form or the other across different scenarios. At the school and college level, pulling all-nighters is physically and mentally exhausting. But you’re at risk of being labelled a ‘buzzkill’ if you choose to succumb to an early bedtime. It is decidedly popular for ‘woke’ people to be awake throughout the night, in their nocturnal bubble which doesn’t appeal to everyone. 

On the other hand, there is a long list of global achievers and celebrities who dismiss sleeping early. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” – we’re not sure what American singer Warren Zavon meant when he said this, but the general sentiment is quite clear. 

Even in professional workplaces, there is a sense of accomplishment associated with staying up late– which is not always healthy. Today’s modern work culture encourages employees to start and end the day late to achieve elevated productivity. With hyper-connectivity making ‘time’ somewhat a redundant notion, late nights at work continues to be the norm. According to Bustle— a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found the “night owls are more likely than early risers to come up with creative solutions to problems.”

“Going to sleep late has become a habit for me because I honestly don’t see the harm in staying up. If I have got something important to do – or even if it’s something trivial, I enjoy the privacy I get at night,” says Aryan Singh, a 23-year-old working in hotel management. 

Exploring the acceptance of these alternate sleep and lifestyle choices gives rise to a pertinent question. Is there a winner? 

“I’ve been playfully teased by my friends and family for sleeping and waking up early, and I do miss out on midnight shenanigans in the hostel – but for me, it’s just something that makes me feel balanced,” says Saloni Rai, a 20-year-old college student. 

Sleep-cycle is very subjective at the end of the day (quite literally). Waking up early or sleeping late– the choice should be made based on how good it makes us feel. Just remember to sleep tight or wait, did we open a can of worms…?