Why do people have different inherent sleeping patterns that they gravitate to (e.g. some humans are morning people, whereas some are very nocturnal)?

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Why do people have different inherent sleeping patterns that they gravitate to (e.g. some humans are morning people, whereas some are very nocturnal)?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

*From a behavior psychology standpoint, it would relate the most to a history of reinforcement for whichever pattern you tend towards. There are probably related biological factors too, but I’ll discuss only the learned stuff.*

Put simply, when you do something (spontaneously at first), sometimes the result compels you to do the action again in the future. (You don’t have to “like” the result for this to happen, but that’s a whole other lesson).

And when you stay up at night or wake up early, there are lots of results that could cause you to do that action again. And if you DO do it again and get results again, it strengthens that choice. Over several decades, you will develop a big learning history. This determines which option you’ll choose.

For a beginners introduction to behavior psychology, I recommend the book The Science of Concequences.

https://scienceofconsequences.com/

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