The world belongs to early risers and we are just living in it. We have all heard this before. The early bird gets the worm.
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. World leaders swear by these quotes like Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill. Despite all their differences, they were both early risers.
So are many of the world's most successful people. Apple CEO Tim Cook gets up at 3.45 a.m. Former PepsiCo CEO Indira Nooyi wakes up as early as 4 a.m.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani wakes up at 5.30 a.m. Everyone wants to be a virtuous early bird. Some do it better than others.
Colombia is the earliest riser in the world at 6.31 a.m. followed by Indonesia and Japan. By comparison, India's wake-up time is 7.36 a.m. America's 7.20.
And Russia, 8.06 a.m. So differences exist, but it is demanded of everyone that they wake up early, which is easier said than done. If you're just not a morning person, science says you may never be. And this is not because you smash your alarm clock when it rings or because you have deep-seated hatred for the sun. It is because of your genes.
And you can blame the Neanderthals for this. They were a species of archaic humans. They're extinct now.
They were alive until about 40,000 years ago, but they intrigue science even today. Modern humans, or our ancestors, procreated with the Neanderthals. They passed down fragments of their DNA.
Some of it is still found in living humans. It gives us survival advantage, makes us more immune to disease, influences our appetite, even affects how or when we sleep. Now a new study is out. It says Neanderthals were morning people.
They lived in Eurasia on higher altitudes. where days became shorter in the winter, so they woke up early to collect food as soon as the day began. Over hundreds of thousands of years, their body clocks adapted to this geography and their descendants with modern humans inherited these body clock genes.
So many people who are early risers today probably have those genes. From an evolutionary perspective, being an early riser makes sense. You can gather food, more food.
You can also stand guard. against wild beasts that emerge in the wee hours. But in today's day and age, how important is it to be a lark?
Should you force yourself to wake up early? Well, I will let you decide that. But just for a minute, let's ignore the pedestal that hails morning people.
I'm going to look at both the feathered categories, the early birds, who are more active in the morning, and the night owls, those who thrive in the dark. It is estimated that 50% of the world does not fit in either of these categories. As for the remaining half, roughly 25% people are early risers, another 25% are night owls.
This does not mean that night owls are always late to work or that early risers don't party till dawn. According to science, the difference lies in their inherent qualities. Morning people are said to be more analytical and cooperative, more persistent.
They set higher goals for themselves, plan for the future more, have a better sense of well-being. On the other hand, night owls are more imaginative and individualistic, more creative, more open to new experiences or taking chances. So whichever side you pick, you will find redeeming qualities. Yet our society tends to reward only 25% of the world's population.
Perhaps it's time to rethink that. Appending your natural body clock is like trying to be someone else. It's a waste of who you are. So redefine what success means to you and put... this debate of waking up to bed.