It lays out a biological truth about sleep cycles that I've experienced for 2-3 decades now: about 30% of humanity are night owls, and we have a hard time adjusting to work hours deemed normal by society.

I'm now in my early 30s and have been noticing the negative effects of constant sleep deprivation over the years. My job starts at 9am and I get up at 8am. Naturally, I'd sleep until 10am. That means I'm jet lagged by 2 hours every single day. I go to bed around midnight, but can rarely fall asleep until 1-2am. I use a medical grade light box in the morning.

The consequences of all the sleep deprivation are pretty dire. I keep getting fatter and feel terrible. It seems to be messing with my digestion. Of course, I'm constantly tired at work and have to make up the sleep debt on the weekend, which leaves me little time to actually enjoy my days off.

I know that it's the sleep because I took a sabbatical and lost a ton of weight - and then gained it all back after going back to work. No changes in diet or workout.

I've asked about starting work later, but the response was complete non-understanding - my manager seemed offended that I'd even ask for that, when everyone else was coming in at the same time as me. I didn't want to start a huge debate so I wouldn't be "that sick guy who wants special treatment". But I guess I do want "special" treatment so that my schedule won't make me sick.

How have other night owls dealt with this? If 30% of us are late risers, there must be huge demand for jobs that start later. I've never even heard of a job that would let me start late enough to wake up at 10am, except maybe a 100% remote job. That would probably severely limit the opportunities and number of jobs available, but I really feel like I can't do this to my body much longer - 20s were fine, 30s don't seem so fine. Maybe I should prioritize health now?