A new US study has found out that as many as 1 in 300 of people may have a natural preference for going to bed extremely early and waking up in the early morning hours. It looked at 2,422 patients attending a sleep disorder clinic over a nine-year period.

This study by the researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is called this phenomenon  ‘advanced sleep phase’ where a person can typically fall asleep before 8:30 p.m. and wake up on their own before 5:30 a.m without work or other engagements dictating their wake-up time.

A senior author of this study mentioned, 

While most people struggle with getting out of bed at 4 or 5 a.m., people with advanced sleep phase wake up naturally at this time, rested and ready to take on the day. These extreme early birds tend to function well in the daytime but may have trouble staying awake for social commitments in the evening. 

The study mentioned that this pattern can be seen before a person turns 30 years of age. They have a certain body clock which is known as its circadian rhythm.  

This operates by releasing the sleep hormone melatonin at certain times. Those with advanced sleep phase have a premature release of melatonin and a shift in body temperature. 

Weirdly the researchers also mentioned that it is the night owls who have a harder time sleeping which impacts their health and productivity. 

Generally, we find that it’s the people with delayed sleep phase – those night owls that can’t sleep until as late as 7 a.m. – who are more likely to visit a sleep clinic. They have trouble getting up for work and frequently deal with chronic sleep deprivation. 

So if you thought the ‘early birds’ are a bunch of weirdos, it is just how their body works. Let them sleep.