There are, the conventional wisdom goes, two types of people: night owls, who stay up late; and larks, who prefer to be up bright and early. But Dr Karen Morton's daily routine looks a little different. The 63-year-old, a consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, will often wake naturally before her 5.45am alarm and be on the labour ward or meeting private patients before 8am. But her early rising isn't thanks to a sensible habit of going to bed early like a lark. Instead, after an exhausting day delivering babies or performing surgery, she will attend meetings, see friends or play bridge, as well as overseeing the private medical helpline business she runs with husband John. Her eventual bedtime — after time spent checking emails and even writing up medical articles — is often well into the early hours. Because Karen is one of a very few women who are able to thrive on as little as three hours' sleep a night. For her, even at the weekend there's no such thing as a lie-in. Every Saturday and Sunday, the keen golfer is up and ready to tee off before most of us have even brushed our teeth. As an obstetrician, you have to be able to get up and go to work at a moment's notice,' says Karen, who lives in London with her husband. I've trained myself not to need much sleep, and now it's simply part of my physiology...
Once my head hits the pillow, I'm asleep within minutes and I wake refreshed. I never feel exhausted. You only get one chance at life and I don't want to waste it asleep. NHS guidelines say that most people need six to nine hours of sleep a night to function, and toavoid a raised risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Two weeks ago, Femail spoke to several women who insisted on a nightly curfew of 8.30pm to be at their optimum. Yet Karen, a busy mum of three grown-up sons, is seemingly healthier and fitter than many women half her age..
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