Ever stop to consider that we work evening and nights for the same reason that "day people" work day shifts??? As a lifelong "owl," I wasn't "an owl" because I worked those shifts... I worked those shifts because "even owls need sleep." How long could you stay even remotely functional if you were forced to start working a 10~6 or 11~7 job??? How safe would you be driving to and from work???

Something I was thinking about in between the post I wrote and deciding to do this reply might just fit nicely here: I realize that there's far more research money available for things labeled as "disorders." An alternative research funding path might be a more sociological one: While the adage of "There are only 2 types of people out and about at this hour - cops and criminals..." Is overly simplistic, it DOES  have a certain degree of merit to it. In my (never to be humble) opinion, much of that is the result of cultural stereotyping, "self-fulfilling prophesy," and reduced educational and occupational opportunities for "owls." I "was the way I was" for as far back as I can remember. Having to be in school "in the middle of my night" and usually on just a couple of hours of sleep was, at best, a major ordeal for everyone involved. My being out of phase with most people was treated as though it was behavioral; and, garnered me a LOT of flack and negative comments about both myself and my future. Fortunately, I've always been enough of a rebel to avoid internalizing it; and, intelligent enough to (essentially) "be my own teacher." While my (adoptive) parents slept, I was typically burrowed under the covers with a book, a textbook, or an encyclopedia. I half-mastered the art of "sleeping with my eyes open in school, which led to accusations of not only day-dreaming; but, even of cheating on tests. (I lost track of how many times I was forced to retake tests in the principle's office to disprove the latter!)  WAY too many "owls" I met as an adult weren't as fortunate... They bought into the assertions that they would "never amount to a hill of beans" and that there was inherently "something wrong" or "something evil" about them - which, in turn, DID divert them into criminality. I'm 64 now; and, I've often speculated "how things might have been" for not only myself; but, for so many others, if options such as 24-hour on-line schools (at every level) had been available to us. If our circadian rhythm cycles had been accepted, rather than being seen as an aberration and villainized. Personally, I could've gone MUCH further in this life; and, in my opinion, the VAST majority of those who were "washed down the drain" of criminality could, instead, have been honest, productive citizens. Many of them had become sub-consciously convinced that there was no place and no opportunities for them in this world, despite the fact that many of them could have had an enormous amount of potential. Granted, the funding from big-pharna is FAR easier to obtain; and, there actually IS a lot of resistance within "the prison industrial complex" to "maintain their cash flow;" but, I'm sure that there must be SOME person, group, etc. who'd LOVE to fund a project with the potential to not only improve individual lives; but, to reduce the tax and humanitarian burdens on our society incurs from these people seeing no future other than welfare, criminality, and a future spent in prison. NOT ALL "owls" are criminals; and, NOT ALL criminals are "owls;" but, the societal differences made by diverting even a significant number of these folks as kids into futures which included not only law enforcement; but, so many of the other fields which are opening up, which could just as easily be done at night, could be dramatically positive.  24 hour on-line college level options could transfer a significant number of menial job workers into careers which woud inspire and provide positive reinforcement for these kids. A "lark" might find it hard to believe; but, I've had conversations with quite a few truly brilliant individuals who, because of society's negative attitudes towards "owls," have been relegated to minimum wage jobs, if even that - as in the case of overnight waitresses.  Many of these who are currently stuck in jobs WAY below their potentials, with the right accommodations and certifications could excel as educator for the "owl kids," as well as excelling in other fields which are half-stocked by "larks" who HATE working night shifts and who's job performance is seriously impaired by having to work when their bodies are screaming for sleep.

I hope everyone reading this will give it some SERIOUS thought!