Am I lazy or just a night person?

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I have had a habit of going to bed late and waking up late for many many years...maybe most of my life. My parents weren't strict and never really got angry about this, but I often wish they had.

I'm now 32 years old and I'm still trying to break this habit. I have noticed that on the days where I wake up early (between 8AM and 9AM) and I get some morning sunshine for at least 20 minutes...I have noticed that for the remainder of the day (even until late night) I feel happier? When I wake up late (between 10AM and 11AM) I always feel drained and through the rest of the day, I feel plagued by negative thoughts, which I'm so tired of.

I know that vitamin D is in the sunshine, which all people need and I make sure I'm in the sun at least 20 minutes...when the sun is out at all that is. Anyway, some days like when it is rainy or cloudy, I have a lot more trouble waking up and getting that natural energy since the sun is behind a wall of clouds. I try to stay away from caffeine like coffee or cola. I drink green tea often, but it doesn't wake me up unless I have like 3 big cups of it. Splashing cold water on the face works for a short time period only. I do pushups as well and that helps, but usually makes me feel sweaty and in need of a shower...right around the time I need to go to work lol.

I don't mean to sound really negative or like I'm coming up with excuses for everything, so I apologize if that is how I'm coming off. My goal is to switch from being a night person to being a morning person. Are there any others on here that have been struggling with the same problem?

I don't think you really can force yourself into becoming a morning person. That would be like forcing yourself to act non-autistic or use your non-dominate hand. Some people are early birds, some are night owls, that's how it is. But our society wants everyone to be "early to bed early to rise". Many people just can't, and as a result most of us are sleep deprived. Western society is very negative about sleep. People who put off sleep to do "important" things are admired, people who actually sleep in are seen as lazy slobs. But I read that it's even worse in some other places, like in Japan. Mexicans are stereotyped as being lazy. Is it because they traditionally nap during the day? It's so hot there's not much else you can do until the sun goes down.
Cats are seen as being lazy. House cats are originally from Africa, which is also very hot during the day. When the sun goes down their prey is also active. It's not laziness, it's genetic.

Not long before my diagnoses I started waking up much earlier in the morning and getting sleepier early at night. I hated it, it caused me much frustration and anger, and my meltdowns became much more frequent and severe, I was rude and nasty all the time, and people thought I was a danger to others. Now I'm clinically dead until noon.

This sounds like more of a medical condition rather then laziness or a night person. Maybe you should go to the doctor

8 to 9 am is not very early in the morning, it seems like a good time to get up.
I usually get up before 9 am, sometimes a bit later if I sleep late on weekends.
It is possible to switch from late riser to earlier riser.
Your switch from 10-11 to 8-9 seems very doable.
It is not like you have to switch to 6 am, which would be much harder.
If you get up earlier and feel better, you might do more things with more energy, and you might sleep earlier and better at night to be able to get up early again the next day.
I used to have problems getting up before 10 or 11 or even 12, but I made an effort to switch to 8-9 am, and I feel much better and am more productive with an earlier schedule.
I usually go to bed around midnight, watch some videos, and fall asleep between 12 and 1 am, which gives me plenty of sleep if I get up at 8-9 am.

If you're staying up late as well as waking up late, that's probably just the way your circadian rhythm is. That may not be a bad thing, because you could take a shift job, or take night classes if you're a college student. In the worst case scenario, you may need to take melatonin, or see a doctor to make sure you don't have a sleep disorder.

I have always been a night-owl. The usual advice to have good "sleep hygiene" doesn't work for me at all - I was the same all through childhood even though my parents did their best to get me into a routine that fitted the school day.

However, I do wonder whether some of this is due to the sensory and other sensitivities that I have. I have always had an intense need to have some time every day without the noise, and possibility of interruptions, of the daytime - and I have no reason to doubt that I would have been the same as a child. And I do get the "boost" described earlier from early morning sunshine (when we actually get some!) - just that it doesn't seem to reset my body clock, even when used in combination with melatonin.

At the same time, the "typical" eight hour block of sleep at the "usual" hours is not a physiological thing - it is a social invention of the industrial revolution. Prior to the needs of the factories changing everything, "multi-phase" sleeping - several shorter sleeps, including maybe a afternoon nap - were considered perfectly normal. It is still around to some degree in the Mediterranean cultures that still allow for a "siesta" when the heat of the day is not conducive to manual work. It is also easy to imagine that our stone-age ancestors would have benefited a great deal by having a few members of every group that were able to remain alert during the night-time to keep the fires burning and watch for predators. So I don't think that being a night-owl is a "disorder" - it's more likely that society has changed in a way that makes it socially unacceptable.

Yes you are probably just a night-owl, and for many people their sleeping schedule may be stay up until midnight or 1-2am, sleep until 10-11am.

You can change your sleeping schedule naturally though like you say it is extremely difficult.

I see a few issues here: Possible insomnia/sleep deprivation causing you severe fatigue throughout the day, Vitamin D deficiency.

Not sure about where you are, but here you can buy a variety of over-the-counter medications to help fight insomnia, including Melatonin - which is the hormone/chemical that is produced at night time.

Light tends to block Melatonin production, which is why people using computer's or phones can have more difficulty getting to bed early.

Also, these devices activate the brains Dopamine/reward center, being the main cause of their addiction.

I know I've had this problem at night sometimes - "Just 10 more minutes and I'll be done!"

If you can get a hold of Melatonin, I recommend taking it half an hour before bed, with all electrical lights off, and begin to settle.

There are also a variety of teas designed specifically for helping you feel more tired and relaxing you. I personally use a herbal organic "bedtime" green tea.

Also, there is even a program you can get for your computer called Flux. https://justgetflux.com/

It lowers your screens brightness from white, to yellow, to orange, to a dark red to help you feel more tired at night earlier. You can set your bedtime and waking time on it, and customize colors.

My schedule is, turn off ALL lights except for computer at 9:00pm. Flux is already working, and is now a deep orange. Lower screen brightness manually to its lowest setting, as all flux does is change the color, not lower the brightness - that's two different things. 10:30, prepare green tea, take Melatonin. Flux will be its darkest red at this time. Drink the tea at 10:45, and at about 11:00 I'm off to sleep. I wake up at 8:30. Sleeping in on non-busy days = bed at midnight, wake at 9:30.

I also suggest taking Multi-vitamins and/or Vitamin D supplements to get your daily intake, but don't take too many as this can cause health risks (over-nutrition). How is your diet? A healthy diet with a balance of Protein, Carbs and Fats will also give you more energy to make it through the day.

@Outrider.
Thanks for the f.lux link. Just installed it now, and the current night-time colour setting feels really easy on my eyes. Great tip!

going for a run clears out cortisol (the stress hormone) from your body which gives restful sleep.
Avoiding wheat helped me,
Are you taking any kind of medication? some meds interfere with sleep.

Another big one is WIFI, try to avoid all cellphone and tablet use that involves the internet, use only a wired connection on a laptop or desktop.

Its perfectly fine to sit next to a WIFI router but as soon as I use a device that uses WIFI it interferes with my sleep