It's 10:18.

I'm currently sitting in the Union Building at school, and while I really should be studying, there is just something in me that won't allow it. Many of you know I'm not exactly what you'd call a "morning person". So concentrating in the morning is not something I'm good at. Actually, I'm pretty sure my brain doesn't awaken until 10:18. But 10:32 if there is no coffee.

There is this concept that you can train yourself to become a morning person. I get this lecture almost daily from one of my friends. Theoretically, one should be able to retrain one's clock and adjust. I'm pretty sure I'm not buying what she's selling. The basis of her argument includes making sure I'm in bed by ten o'clock every evening. She concedes that I'll lay in bed awake for TWO HOURS, but that I'll feel refreshed when I awaken at 4:30 in the morning. Okay, first of all, WHO ever feels REFRESHED in the middle of the night (which the middle of the night includes any hour between 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. in my world). It's inconceivable. Secondly, if you are lying in bed AWAKE for two HOURS, isn't there really a better use of your time here?

I contend that you are either a morning person or a night owl. It's really not something you pick. Yes, you can force a night owl to get up in the morning, but the real question here is when are you most productive? When does it come more naturally for your brain to really function?

I have two children. Two boys. They are polar opposites. Zeke is my early bird. His clock functions best between 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. When I put him to bed, his eyes literally roll to the back of his head and he is asleep within minutes. Doing his homework in the evening is a real chore, because his brain starts to shut down in preparation for sleep starting around 7:00 p.m.

Miles, on the otherhand, is definitely my night owl. Ever since he was a baby. He always gets a second wind starting around 7:30, and is definitely his funniest, his most inquisitive, and detail oriented at this time. I put him to bed at 8:30, and he's the one that is up and down, up and down. He absolutely can NOT fall asleep. I've been trying to train him HIS WHOLE LIFE to go down easily. He cannot.

Another observation I've had in is appetite. Zeke wakes up in the morning ravenous. He absolutely needs fuel immediately. But his last meal is typically no later than 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening. Miles does not eat breakfast. It's impossible to make him. He will, however, eat a second dinner around 8:00 or gets out of bed at 9:00 p.m. to eat again. It's just an indicator in when their bodies are at their most productive, therefore when they need more fuel.

My dad is asleep every night by 9:00 p.m. Whether he's in bed or not. But getting him to sleep past 4:00 a.m. is impossible. My mother has not been able to adjust to this schedule. She still putters around (and hops on the treadmill) until at least 11:30 p.m., and will sleep-in whenever possible. After decades of marriage, neither has been able to adjust to each other's schedule. They just are not biologically wired to do so.

So. When I stay up late, and I'm a bitch in the morning, cut me some slack. I try to change, but nature beats nurture in this scenario. Some animals are nocturnal. I don't think Pavlov could train them any other way. It's the way we're made.

And there is nothing wrong with that.