This simple switch helped me wake up early and with tons of energy despite being a night owl — here's how

(Image credit: Future)

In a world that celebrates morning people, I’m almost ashamed to admit that I'm a chronic night owl. While the rest of my household is asleep, I’m still skulking around in the darkness, tackling the tasks that I suddenly feel I have the time and energy for.Provided that I’m getting enough quality rest, being a night owl isn’t necessarily a problem. However, the rhythm and demands of my daily life mean I have to get up with the early birds; my children have school and my job has a prompt start time. When you’re someone who favors the natural rhythm of going to bed late and waking up late, life becomes a daily battle with the snooze button and flagging morning energy levels.While I know I’ll never change my hardwired sleep-wake cycle (I’ll go over why in more detail below), I have found a way to ‘hack’ being an early riser. And Dr. Joshua Roland, a board-certified sleep medicine physician and medical director at Dreem Health, explains why it works.What is a chronotype and what does it have to do with the time I feel tired? Before we go into how I’m finally waking up earlier and with more energy, let’s touch on why some people find early mornings hard.You’ve likely heard of the term 'night owl' and 'morning lark'. These are two examples of chronotypes; the classification of the natural timing of your circadian rhythms (your body's internal 24 hour clock).