Can You Change Your Circadian Rhythm—and Should You?

Night owls get a bad rep, but it might be time to leave that shame behind.

January 15, 2026

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A regular bedtime for me is 2 a.m. As I’m writing this (at midnight, no less), I can already imagine the emotions evoked on the faces reading this: shock, horror, and maybe even a little judgement. I get it all the time, being a lifelong night owl. I’ve long been told my routine—sleeping from around 2 a.m. to 10 a.m.—is societally unacceptable and simply unsustainable, which piles onto the quiet guilt I sometimes feel for not working a “stable” job with regular hours. But as 2026 arrived, I decided I wanted to get to the bottom of whether I should be feeling bad about the way I manage my sleep; I’ve been like this for years, after all, and usually manage to make it work for me. So should I be trying to fix my circadian rhythm—and even if I wanted to, could I?

A quick refresher on what circadian rhythm is

Described as the body’s internal 24-hour biological clock, “it helps regulate many essential functions, including when we feel sleepy or alert, how hormones are released, body temperature, digestion, and even immune activity,” Alicia Gonzalez-Fernandez, MD, a specialist in family medicine at Imperial College London, tells SELF. “At the center of this system is a small group of nerve cells in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which sits in the hypothalamus. This master clock responds primarily to light and darkness. When light enters the eyes—especially morning light—it sends a signal to the brain that it is daytime. This suppresses the release of the sleep hormone melatonin and promotes alertness. As light levels fall in the evening, melatonin rises, preparing the body for sleep.”

Many things can affect the circadian rhythm. These include—most notably—traveling across time zones (experiencing jet lag), the clocks going back or forwards, and daily changes to light exposure. Our individual clocks are, in part, predetermined by our genetics, but they’re also determined by our daily habits and environment. For many of us, that means our bed and wake-up times will vary depending on light exposure, when we eat, and how and when we exercise. Some of us run later (night owls) and others earlier (morning larks), which “are known as our chronotypes,” Allie Hare, MD, a consultant in sleep medicine and president of the British Sleep Society, explains to SELF. (My Oura ring likes to remind me that my chronotype is “late evening.”)

This suggests that with the right lifestyle tweaks, it’s possible to shift your circadian rhythm in a certain direction—should you wish to—which sleep experts tend to agree is correct. Start with a sleep diary, advises Dr. Hare, writing down what time you go to sleep and wake up each day and monitoring how this gradually alters amidst certain lifestyle changes. Light exposure habits top the list here. “Getting bright natural light soon after waking helps signal to the brain that the day has started, which anchors the body clock earlier. In contrast, reducing light exposure in the evening—especially from screens—allows melatonin to rise naturally and promotes earlier sleep onset,” explains Dr. Gonzalez-Fernandez.

Meal and exercise timings matter greatly too. If you’re attempting to move away from the night owl chronotype, avoid heavy meals late in the evening as well as working out, which should be prioritized in the morning or early afternoon instead. Both actions will help to signal to your body that bedtime is imminent. Cutting down on caffeine after lunchtime, avoiding (or limiting) naps, and engaging in a relaxing bedtime routine can all aid in the process too—as will patience. Remember, this will take weeks rather than days, and if you’re proactively shifting your bedtime forward or backwards, you should only do so in 15- to 30-minute increments each night rather than all at once. “The key is to change these cues consistently and gradually, rather than trying to force rapid shifts,” says Dr. Gonzalez-Fernandez.

Just because you can shift your circadian rhythm, should you?

Night owls will be familiar with the narrative that early risers are inherently better. There’s almost a level of shame and stigma attached to being a night owl; if you manage to convert to being a morning person, you’re healthier, more productive, and altogether just winning at life, it would seem. We’re bombarded with content urging us to fix our late-night habits and retrain our sleep patterns—from TikTok videos to scientific studies that suggest our mental health is in peril. In my experience, this only leads to feelings of being judged and isolated from society; ironic, given we’re so often told we must go to bed and wake earlier to fit into societal norms. But are there really dire health and social implications of being a night owl? Or, instead of pressuring yourself to retrain your circadian rhythm, should you just honor the body clock that works for you?

The sleep experts I spoke with implied that a lot of the outside noise surrounding this subject is just that; as long as you are not experiencing problems (sleep or otherwise), you should work with your natural body clock, not against it. If your sleep pattern works for you (in other words, you are functioning healthily, able to work and socialize, and get enough sleep), then “there is no reason to push to shift your clock if your lifestyle doesn’t require it,” notes Dr. Hare. “It is easier to remain on your natural schedule, so if that works for your employment and social life, I wouldn’t try to change things.”

“People all have different sleep chronotypes, and in sleep medicine we encourage them to lean into their natural body clock whenever possible. We also encourage them to ignore all the shaming out there that early birds are better,” reiterates Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, director of NY Sleep and Psychology, a clinical psychologist and author of The Women’s Guide To Overcoming Insomnia. If, like me, you work for yourself and don’t have strict 9-to-5 office hours, this is doable (with healthy boundaries, of course). Working night shifts, scheduling tasks for later in the day, and creating a sleep environment that aids in later morning rest (such as eye masks and ear plugs) can also help you to embrace your natural rhythm.

However, you should seek help to shift your sleep schedule if it begins to interfere with your lifestyle or health and well-being; for example, you get a new job that requires an early start or have children to take care of before school. This can lead to what experts call a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. The aforementioned steps can be taken to counter the impact of these and to shift your sleep times—but if you struggle to do this alone, this is where a sleep therapist may come in. Dr Gonzalez-Fernandez recommends speaking to your primary physician to discuss short-term medications–such as promethazine (an antihistaminic that causes drowsiness) or over-the-counter melatonin aids—and referral to a specialist. Just remember to leave the night owl shame behind.