I Swapped Lives with a Night Owl for a Week

[00:00] And that's Sara, and she's a night owl. (upbeat music) we wanna see if there's anything we can learn

[00:14] waking up before sunrise? (birds chirping) - Are we more creative working late into the night? Is there something that we can all learn

[00:26] that we'll become happy and successful? This video is sponsored by Squarespace, more on them later. (upbeat music) (bed sheet rustles)

[00:40] It's actually just wild seeing you here. 'Cause that's what Andrew Huberman says. (door clicks)

[00:54] What did I say? - I said no cameras in the morning. (comforter rustling)

[01:07] when it comes to our routines. - Everything is unstructured. This past week was pretty bad.

[01:21] That was pretty bad. (laughs) we've both found some success as online creators to the point of swapping routines.

[01:34] to help minimize the extreme shifts in her schedule. with the flow is just a very difficult thing for me to do. at work at 12:00 PM, what's the point?

[01:48] And I think especially as I go into this phase of having a child, I think my schedule is gonna be - And so this might allow me to build some resiliency,

[02:00] When you look at the conversation online it's hard not to think that there's a right way to do it. with people sharing their morning rituals and routines.

[02:15] Tim Cook wakes up at 4:30 AM and so does Jocko Willink. - Bill Gates gets up at 5:00 AM along with Richard Branson. People share their exact recipe for doing it right.

[02:31] with a splash of lemon juice, And crush a 60 minute hit workout, Whether or not people do these routines

[02:44] What is clear though, is that our obsession But is this a universal truth for everyone? if we could just find the willpower to plow

[03:00] - Okay, so I just got done working out Oh, my God. Hey. Anyways, so I just got back from my workout

[03:12] about waking up early is I actually have a chunk On a normal day, when I wake up at 10:00 AM, I really don't get anything done.

[03:26] have some coffee, scroll on Twitter, to do creative work when today, during the day, the sun was up.

[03:40] and hopefully not go to bed at 3:00 AM tonight. (crickets chirping) I'm going to bed before midnight for the first time.

[03:55] I think I'll be able to wake up at 7:00 AM on day two. - Hey, if you like this video, You won't regret it. I promise.

[04:09] (suspenseful music) that I'm being incredibly unproductive I mean, for the past 10 years,

[04:21] getting my most important things done first thing. trying to figure out how to make this all work. At this point, it's 12:47 AM

[04:36] and I keep rereading the same emails (laughs) (table thuds) So I'm struggling. about the science of sleep and daily routines.

[04:50] should be waking up should really be based Sleep researcher, Matthew Walker, has emphasized for sleep timing, which are known as chronotypes.

[05:04] It's about a third, third split across the population. You know, this notion of these go-getter type A's

[05:16] You go to the gym, you blast out a workout for an hour, You have no choice if you're an evening type, at least 22 different genes that dictate what you are.

[05:33] - Since the invention of electricity it's harder to know what our chronotype actually is. on morning routines?

[05:46] because we've been putting off that important project. without even realizing it. to procrastination because there's always more time

[06:01] I can always work until two, 3:00 AM where I won't work past five or I won't work past six. strongly influenced by procrastination.

[06:17] to begin working? is just at the door and it's like I have to get it done - The best way to figure out your own chronotype

[06:33] This is probably best done when you're not under pressure with an alarm clock. You don't have to look far to find examples

[06:48] Winston Churchill was notorious for working late is known for being a night owl, a late night work schedule, keeping his mornings free

[07:01] The night owl life has clearly worked for world leaders I mean, that's the real question. into my work, but since I'm a night owl now

[07:15] Not really sure what to do, I got some advice from Sara. I'm kind of a sloth. Like I'll get my yogurt parfait and my coffee,

[07:31] And I ease into the day. There is no hit the ground running. (upbeat music)

[07:44] - This is the most ridiculous show I've ever seen. (laughs) I'm gonna be reading more, going to the gym, making my smoothies meal, prepping everything that I can do

[07:57] and I'm not just making my entire day about work. (upbeat music) Yes.

[08:13] I woke up at 7:00 AM. Having that chunk of time, you know, in between 7:00 AM and go do things.

[08:27] (yawns) Okay, let's keep doing this. of work that I would typically do in the in a day, Natalie's been asleep for a little while

[08:43] so I can kind of get into that flow state. late into the night are updates to my website. for this week's video, Squarespace.

[08:58] for the past decade for three main reasons. and making changes to my website Changing my bio is easy as

[09:13] (mouse clicking). (mouse clicking). From there, you can buy your new domain name,

[09:27] That means that if you're an aspiring creator or a programmer to get started. Visit squarespace.com today for a free trial

[09:43] go to squarespace.com/mattdavella It's easy as... this video, you're helping to support the content

[09:56] And so if you're ready to make a website, do me a favor, Regardless of when you naturally wake up, that advantages early risers.

[10:09] for people who wake up early And that means that morning people According to researcher and biologists, Christoph Randler,

[10:23] which gets them into better colleges, And that's why sleep researchers like Matthew Walker with how employees and students work best.

[10:38] that society does not want you sleeping. Because what society wants from a capitalistic point of view is that you are either producing or you are consuming.

[10:51] and you're neither consuming. And so there are lots of ways that I think society and the modern world has conspired willfully or not,

[11:06] to decrease and try to diminish sleep. of the extreme wasn't gonna work for either Sara or myself.

[11:20] Almost 1:00 AM. I am so done with this. I can't wait to get back to my structure and my routine Everything that I had to sacrifice and give up

[11:33] staying in the flow state a little bit longer (screen whooshes) - So, my hope for the outcome There's no way I'm gonna normally wake up

[11:47] at 8:00 AM every morning. and that's because we have very different personalities in the years to come.

[12:01] and so I feel like I'm gonna need to adopt In a lot of ways, this was just a trial run for me. that have been eating into her sleep

[12:16] - I started off actually very optimistic, No, the thing that I do take from this experience and lunch is actually a really great time to be productive,

[12:34] about what works for each of us. has helped me switch off from work later in the day. in her life.

[12:48] is I was doing that productive procrastination. what's this final cut thing about? And so a lot of my passions were formed

[13:02] not wanting to do things. that have now informed my life today. and I just got an update from Sara here.

[13:16] She messaged me saying that she literally went right back to her 2:00 AM nights the day after the experiment. I'm gonna work on it.

[13:29] - But she decided to stick with it and said naturally at 8:30 AM. in real change, which is pretty cool.

[13:46] One, pay attention to the signals and work schedules. Thanks for watching. (screen clicks)