Anyone else get more done at night?

I come from a family divided. I am a lark, up with said bird and finished for the day and ready for bed by 10.00pm. If I try to sleep in I rarely make it past 7.00am. If I am asleep at 8.00am, I am ill.

DD is an extreme owl. As 10.00pm strikes, she begins to wake up. Starts acting, as paddyann describes. left to her self she goes to bed well after 2.00am.

She has recently complained that I never wanted to talk to her when she was a teenager, I thought about it and realised and remembered, it was not that I didn't want to talk to her, but she would come down from her bedroom, bright-eyed and breezy and ready to put the world to rights at 10.00pm. Just as I, tired by a busy day and a busy job, was in my night dress and about to go to bed, knowing I would be up and awake by 6.00pm.

I am an owl, but DH is a lark, so if we need to do anything we have to get things done between 10 am and about 5 pm before it's time to start cooking dinner.
I had things to sort on the internet this morning, couldn't go out this afternoon so now I feel rather restless!
Perhaps I should do a yoga dvd.

Wow! You are well named Grannyactivist.
I was at our yearly art club lunch today at the golf club. Had a great time. In bed since 7pm resting

My days are a whirl of activity. Today I was up at just after 7am; on the phone booking next Easter's holiday at 8am and making work-related calls until 9am; then I was on my way to see a client and spent the next three hours sugar soaping the walls and doors in his flat (it's a long story). At twelve o'clock I left to go to at an AGM, but stopped off to briefly see a client on the way. At two o'clock I was on my way to the Care Home where I run an afternoon group for the residents; I left just after 4pm to meet a client and then came home to catch up with the day's emails and phone calls. Then I was off to the allotment to do some watering and pick the mange tout, raspberries and tayberries. Now I've just sat down with a cup of tea and some salad and logged on to GN, but I still have about two hours of paperwork to sort through for a meeting tomorrow. When I've finally finished for the day I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief, but then I usually need some 'down' time where I can just relax and so I often do a bit of Family History research and then I'm shocked to discover it's the early hours of the morning and my eyes are closing.
Basically I'm an owl, but often forced by circumstances to become a lark as well.

I'm amazed at your energy Paddyann and others too. I would love to be like that. You're all very lucky. I'm lucky if I do what needs done and reserve a little energy for painting.

I’m a lark. I do all I need to by lunchtime then often have a short nap.
Busy again until dinner then I sit with my feet up all evening. My little dog suits me exactly. She gets two walks a day then settles down to sleep soundly at six o’clock. After surfacing briefly at ten for a wee and a snack she goes to bed with me and sleeps until about five.

One of the best things about retiring is that I can follow my natural body clock much more.Which inclines more towards lark than owl.Having said that even though I wake early it takes me a while to get going.After years of shifts, and then very early starts I'm loving a slower start.Up but pottering,cup of tea in hand or reading in the bath not missing the scramble to get to work one bit.Then out walking the dogs.
But my absolutely most productive time is mid afternoon /early evening-after the post lunch slump.I get a huge surge of energy and that's when I get most done.Not ideal for DH who likes a break then as often out in the evening again working and I'm like a whirling dervish doing housework or doing lots of cooking.

I have always been a nightowl and done any housework before I go to bed,it worked very well when I was working full time as all I had to do of a morning was to eat and go out the front door.
Now that there are only two of us and I am retired I don't have to be so fussy so as long as dishes and washing are up to date I dont bother too much now,I still have a quick tidy before I go off to bed though.

whitewave, I would love to be more awake during the evening but no chance of that unless I do something interesting like sewing. I suppose it is good to know ones own cicadian cycle. I go to the allotment by 7 and am usually home by 9, having physically worked and travelled 24 miles round trip. Then I have a coffee and am raring to go again until lunch and then zonk

A bit like paddyann I often do the craziest things at night. I have an urge to move furniture around, change curtains, clean the bathroom, make tomorrows dinner etc. I'm almost always at work during the day so doing stuff at night makes sense.

I am an owl.....never asleep before 1- 1.30 a.m.

AnepplI'm 65 I've always done stuff late at night so its not new.On Saturday night I made and decorated a two tier cake for my SIL's wedding anniversary on Sunday finished it around 2am.I used to walk our dogs in the middle of the night and its a long time since we last had a dog so I need to do something else.I still work part time and help my daughter with children and bed changing and stuff...I guess I'm just lucky .I thought there must be other folk who work on the same timeclock ..it cant just be me .

sara ?? no I entirely please myself now. I retired at 60 am now 73 - where has the time gone? it is frightening

I'm a lark. Always have been. I really struggle with evening activities even on holiday it's dinner then off to bed. Parties and evening social events are a sore trial for me. Poor DH!
It's nothing new though. I worked out early on that I'd rather get up early and study rather than try to work in the evening.

The last few years of my working life I did night shift. If I had my way I would do all my work, cleaning, washing etc., in the evening but DH is a lark. He's up and out at 04:00 therefore I feel unable to do anything noisy at night. I only got up 40 minutes ago but I have emptied the dishwasher ?.

I've never had the energy to work during the night. Read maybe. Although once I changed my bedroom furniture round as I couldn't see the door from where I was lying.
Paddyann I don't know how you do all that. I could never achieve that much. Maybe you're younger - I'm 68. I do have a health condition and tend to do jobs when I feel able but never that late. Although I think its wonderful to have such energy you do seem to be burning the candle at both ends.

sodapop ??

Me too Urmstongran didn't realise how lazy I was

I used to be an owl. We had a pub and restaurant for seven years so never went to bed before midnight but nowadays I'm a lark. Get as much done as possible before 5pm then crash!

Apart from tidying the kitchen and folding laundry I do absolutely nothing in the evenings other than reading, watching telly or going online. That's how I recharge my battery!

Go to bed at around 11.30 and sleep like a log - other than a loo visit around 4am.

Oh my. All you energetic ladies at either end of the day! I feel like a sloth in comparison.... so I shan’t contribute anything ha!
x

Whitewavemark2

I’m not sure how you did it either!
I think you’ve earned your retirement, are you still a busy person?

I am definitely a lark. Awake around 5.30 but then I need to go to bed at 9 pm. I am awake a bit in the night too. Hey Ho. Sometimes I think it goes back to having babies on 4 hourly feeds - I can never seem to sleep for longer at a time.

sara when I worked that is exactly me? I live on the south coast and used to occasionally work in France, so those days included up at between 4|4.30 am, walk the dog as well as all the other jobs . Then drive to the Channel Tunnel M23, M26 M 20 then France. Looking back I’m not sure how I did it.

Whitewavemark2

I’m the same, I race around before I go to work, packed lunches, often prepare supper, bring in logs and clean fires out, peg washing, vacuum around, pay bills etc

When I get home I’m fit for nothing!

I'll swap with you Paddyann, I'm awake at 4 am and asleep by 9pm it's very annoying !