Why Do You Work Better at Night & How to Use It
Aleksandra Doknić, May 15, 2024
“Why do I work better at night?”
“Why do I focus better at night?”
“Why does my brain work better at night?”
If I had a dime every time I asked myself these questions, I’d probably be the next Jeff Bezos.
I wasn’t sure why I felt the most creative at night for a long time.
But it was my reality; as soon as the clock ticked 10 p.m., I became a new person who hit the ground running. Moreover, for most of my adult life, 11 p.m. was a symbol of peak productivity when all my creative juices started flowing.
But there was only one problem.
The Internet is full of productivity coaches suggesting you should be an “early bird” to be truly successful. A 5 a.m. morning routine involved matcha lattes, workout regimens, reading books, journaling, cold showering, etc. Talk about an eye roll.
So, as one does when consulting the brilliant minds of the Internet, I tried to change my rhythm. One day, I decided to be this magical human who wakes up well-rested, energized, and all smiles without dark circles at 6 a.m. A person who doesn’t feel like it’s time to nod off at 11 a.m.
Didn’t work.
But I adjusted well to a 9-5 working schedule. It became my routine.
Fast forward to a few years later.
Due to my (fortunate!) family situation, I have been able to organize my life so I can work at night and be flexible with my hours. When I had the chance to immerse myself in night working mode, that’s when the “Eureka!” moment happened. I found that only 25% of people identified as night owls, and only 30% of those night owls were productive during 9-5 hours. And reading that made sense to me.
I realized it’s not wrong to prefer working at night. Burning the midnight oil makes me feel more creative, accomplished, and overall much happier.
That’s when I started researching the causes of high productivity at night and enjoyed the full benefits of being a night owl.
So, in this article, I do my best to answer all the questions you might have about working at night, offering my perspective and experience and including some medical and neuroscience stats that prove our night owl brains are something we should embrace.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
“Why do I feel more productive at night?”
If you have asked yourself this question multiple times, here’s a simple answer: your genes, brain chemistry, lifestyle choice, and personality traits can determine whether you’re a night owl or not. For all these reasons, your body may have a natural sleeping and productivity cycle that doesn’t synchronize with the 9-5 working hours.
Here’s how all these predispositions and traits affect your sleeping schedule and periods of heightened productivity.
How genes affect productivity at night
We humans are a species typically active during the day, while we sleep at night. Although that’s true for most people, a rule of thumb is that genetics plays a vital role in sleep (and sleep disorders). And when we talk about genetics, we talk about the circadian system.
The circadian system regulates many bodily functions, including temperature, appetite, metabolism, hormone release, and sleep-wake windows. It relies on our internal clock, which functions within 24 hours, but the exact timing varies from person to person, determining whether you are an early bird or a night owl. Consequently, if your internal clock runs faster, you are a morning lurk and vice versa一if it runs slower, you're probably more of a nocturnal being.
But what causes our internal clock to run so fast or slow?
Well, our genes. Changes in genes, commonly known as mutations, can affect the clock's timing.
So, if you ever wondered what is “wrong” with you so you feel more active and productive at night, know that everything is perfectly fine; your genes are just a bit different.
Fun fact.
There are four chronotypes based on the circadian system一bear, lion, wolf, and dolphin.
A chronotype is your body’s natural disposition to wake up and go to sleep at particular times.
Usually, night owls embody the wolf chronotype of a nighttime hunter being the most productive in the evenings. They say wolves are risk-takers, sometimes emotionally impulsive but also very creative.
And it’s not just your circadian rhythm that’s to blame for midnight productivity; there’s one more thing: an ultradian cycle.
The ultradian cycle is a cycle of 90-minute bursts of focus and ultimate brain power that can help you tackle even the most difficult tasks.
If your ultradian cycles peak during the night, you'll stay sharp way past standard bedtime. Moreover, these cycles of productivity can help you balance work, family, and social life during the day without exhaustion.
How brain chemistry affects productivity at night
Without boring you with too much medical data, let’s look at this one study.
The study “Brain connections that disadvantage night owls revealed“, by the University of Birmingham in 2019, found that night owls and morning larks have fundamental differences in brain function.
The researchers studied the brain function and cognitive abilities of 38 individuals who were identified as either “night owls” or “morning larks” due to their physiological rhythms (melatonin and cortisol). The volunteers underwent MRI scans and a series of tasks at different times during the day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
What did the researchers find?
Well, amongst all the other things, the results were that brain connectivity in the regions responsible for better performance and lower sleepiness of night owls is impaired throughout the whole day, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Knowing this, it’s safe to say that night owls could face disadvantages when being forced to adjust to a typical working day that occurs during a socially accepted time.
The findings also suggest that society should be more conscious of a person's internal clock as it affects their productivity and overall health.
Just a quick note.
If you have ADHD and you tend to function better at night, there are two things you need to know:
- First, there’s people all over the Internet, struggling with the same thing you are. Just check this Reddit thread, you’ll see what I mean.
- Second, the tendency to work at night is a symptom of ADHD, as ADHDers tend to have more energy at night due to fewer distractions and stimuli.
So, don’t fear being active and getting work done at night while having ADHD; just learn how to make the most out of it.
How your lifestyle and personal traits affect productivity at night
When it comes to personality traits linked with nighttime productivity, one thing is for sure: introverts tend to work better at night. And the reason is simple, they get overstimulated by noise and (forced) socializing, so they enjoy the peace and quiet the night brings, allowing for better focus and creativity.
As a proud introvert, I can confirm this. Introverts recharge by gaining mental solitude. So, in the evenings, it’s me and my laptop doing research and reading, with no unnecessary questions, comments, interruptions, or loud noises. 🙂
Night owls and health challenges
The most prominent danger of being a night owl is一you guessed it一sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation is much more than yawning often during the day, feeling fatigued, or being unfocused. It can have a major impact on your brain and cause obesity, diabetes, and immune health issues. That’s why The Sleep Health Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of sleep for adults between the ages of 18 and 64.
Now, you might find yourself sometimes needing more sleep, sometimes less. And that’s okay.
But as a night owl, chances are you are going to struggle with sleep deprivation.
Here are some quick tips to get you through these periods and even help you avoid being sleep-deprived:
- Nap during the day, no more than 30 minutes. Napping during the day has been demonstrated to alleviate cognitive deficits associated with sleep deprivation. Just make sure you don’t nap longer than 30 minutes, as it can impact your ability to go to sleep at night (or early morning).
- Limit your caffeine intake. The body absorbs caffeine well, and you’ll see its effects between 5 and 30 minutes after having it. Feeling energized and awake can last up to 12 hours, but if you are a seasoned coffee drinker, that feeling will quickly doze off, and you’ll find yourself dehydrated and exhausted.
- Be realistic about your work schedule and prioritize your health. Prioritizing sleep over productivity is a must.
Should you change to fit in the socially acceptable working hours?
Knowing all the previously mentioned, I don’t think you should or would manage to change.
Suddenly becoming a morning lurk isn’t something you can decide one day. I mean, you could try it (props to you if you succeed!), but the stakes are high, and doing so would be so much more than simply deciding to change your habits.
- Your genetics are at play.
- Your brain’s natural connections are at play.
- Your creativity and productivity are at play.
If I were you, I wouldn’t joke about that.
And if you need some more encouragement to embrace your wolf chronotype, check out these fun facts:
- Night owls tend to have higher IQs.
- Professor Jim Horne, of Loughborough University, mentioned, “Evening types tend to be the more creative types, the poets, artists, and inventors, while the morning types are the deducers, as often seen with civil servants and accountants.”
- Famous night owls include Barack Obama, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, James Joyce, Keith Richards, and Elvis Presley.
- If you wake up during REM sleep or sleep irregular hours, you can raise your productivity. Creative geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci claimed that their ideas came to them after waking up from this cycle. Da Vinci was convinced that his unconventional sleeping habits affected his artistic output.
So, my take on being a night owl is to just embrace it.
And if you are not sure how, check out the following tips on how to make the most of your night time productivity while staying mentally and physically healthy.
#1 Develop a routine
Not every night owl functions the same.
You may feel the most productive at 11 p.m. and your wolf chronotype friend at 3 a.m.
Depending on when your focus and concentration are the highest, you should create a schedule for going to bed and waking up. And believe me一doing this step will make you feel well-rested and fresh in the morning, even if you’ve worked most of the night.
#2 Avoid heavy meals during night hours & stay hydrated
The temptation to munch on all the delicious treats you’ve avoided during daytime often comes alive at night.
But it’s best to avoid eating at night, and here’s why.
After eating, particularly a large or sugar-rich meal, the body directs blood flow to the digestive system to break down and absorb nutrients from food. This increased blood flow to the stomach and intestines means there’s less circulation to other parts of the body, like the brain.
When digesting food, it’s common to feel drowsiness or decreased alertness, which can impact your cognitive function and productivity. When your body is digesting food, there’s a good chance for a temporary decrease in mental sharpness and focus.
So, I suggest consuming smaller, balanced meals during the day and staying hydrated at night. Staying hydrated can reduce the feeling of sluggishness and tiredness. And please don’t do what I do: DO NOT let your lips get crusty and dry to remind you it’s time to get up and get a glass of water. Dried lips are a serious sign of dehydration. So, please keep a bottle of water next to your desk, and drink a sip every ten minutes or so. Doing this step will refresh you and keep you alert longer.
#3 Use the Pomodoro technique
The Pomodoro technique is one of the best ways to track time spent on tasks and projects.
Without getting into too much detail about this method, it encourages you to divide work into manageable chunks. You can work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. A more extended break is allowed after four Pomodoro sessions of 20 minutes or more. This technique can help you stay focused and concentrated easily, even at 2 a.m.
Now, if you read the previous paragraph and thought, “Who has the patience to track time at night?” I get where you’re coming from.
First, there’s the issue of using start/stop timers. Nobody who works at night would remember to press START and STOP buttons.
Second, working at night is all about boosting creativity or achieving “a flow state”. A flow state is the experience of being so absorbed by a task that you lose sense of time and can’t focus on anything that doesn’t have to do with the task you’re working on. It’s an amazing feeling once you recognize you’re “in the zone”. But what’s not impressive is that you’ll probably forget to drink water, take a break, and even track time.
Luckily for you, that’s where Memtime comes into play.
Memtime offers a few features you can use while working at night:
- It tracks your time in all programs 24/7.
- You can set a work hour target, a specific number of hours you aim to work in a day. So, for example, if you work Monday to Friday as a freelancer, your work hour target could differ from day to day; on Mondays it’s 4 hours per day, on Tuesdays 5 hours, etc. Defining a work hour target can help you manage time effectively and prioritize tasks efficiently. You’ll know all about your daily responsibilities and how much time you have to complete them.
- You can set a reminder for each day so you don’t forget to create and submit time entries. After all, the time you spend working should be turned into billable hours, and it’s essential you create time entries that you’ll base those hours on.
As you can see, Memtime is your time tracking ally during daytime and nighttime.
So, if you’d like to give our tool a go, try it free for 14 days; no credit card information needed.
#4 Exercise
Working out has a plethora of health benefits: maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the risk of chronic diseases and certain cancers, strengthening the cardiovascular system, muscles, and bones, reducing depression symptoms, and so on.
But if you struggle to focus late at night, exercise can help you feel more productive and energized. Here’s why:
- Working out can increase energy levels and reduce the feeling of fatigue. It delivers oxygen to tissues, enhancing your overall vitality.
- Physical activity also leads to improved cognitive function, meaning you’ll remember things quickly and stay on top of tasks. It even promotes the growth of new brain cells.
- Exercising acts as a stress reliever by reducing cortisol levels. It’s also a healthy outlet for any tension you may have.
So, next time you start to nod off, get up and do some light exercise, like stretching or yoga. You’ll be surprised at how productive you’ll feel afterward.
#5 Incorporate single tasking
“Multitasking is a myth”, said Charlotte Seibert in an article for Memtime's blog.
Charlotte explored the consequences of taking on several tasks at the same time and the idea of single tasking.
“The problem is that the human brain is not capable of multitasking. It cannot do more than one task at a time without compromising quality.”
And if you have ever tried multitasking while working at night, you know it comes with a lot of time pressure and stress. Plus, if you have an excessive or creative workload at night, you need to define priorities and avoid tasks that can disrupt your train of thought.
So, try one task at a time; it's a "more is less" approach to time management. You'll see, you'll feel more focused and alert, and you won't have an issue getting "in the zone”. Nighttime is not the time to dabble in multitasking.
Final words on being more productive at night
Some people are morning lurkers, and some are night owls.
We all work differently and have distinct outbursts of energy and focus. Our genes, brain chemistry, lifestyle, and personal traits all contribute to productivity and efficiency in completing (creative) work.
So, if you find yourself more productive when the moonlight hits, don't be afraid to embrace it. And if you are just discovering your late-night superpower, I suggest you take it easy: start engaging in nighttime activities when your body and mind allow it; don't force them.
Wishing you nights filled with focus and progress. May you wake up the next day feeling refreshed and proud of all you've achieved overnight! 🙂
Meet the author:
Aleksandra Doknić
Aleksandra Doknić is a copywriter and content writer with six years of experience in B2B SaaS and e-commerce marketing. She's a startup enthusiast specializing in topics ranging from technology and gaming to business and finance.
Outside of work, Aleksandra can be found walking barefoot in nature, baking muffins, or jotting down poems.