It takes about 20 ounces of coffee for me to be awake enough to function. Top that with having to wake up early and go to bed late and I tend to struggle before the sun rises. That's why they call me "The only morning DJ lying through her teeth about being a morning person."

But what if those distinctions, morning person, night owl, etc, were all decided for you before you even had an alarm clock to tell you it was time to get ready for work? According to a recent study, whether you function better in the AM or PM can be tied directly to your genetic makeup.

The study used fruit flies, as many genetic studies do because of their similarity in genetic markers to humans, and it found that flies emerge differently in the mornings or evenings based on their gene expression. These distinctions are called "Larks," for morning people, or "Owls," for those that function best at night.

So, while you can make changes to help your internal clock operate better at different times of the day, your base distinction as a "Lark" or "Owl" is still present. So next time you hear me struggling to speak coherently on the morning show, remember that I'm an Owl trying desperately to pretend to be a Lark.

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