When do you sleep?!
EDITED, Because I was wrong on some facts. Thanks tumblr people for correcting me.
Humans are (supposed to be) a daylight species. We have excellent colour definition, possibly some the best in the animal kingdom, depth perception which is second to none and excellent ability to detect movement and spot predators who are even camouflaged against their usual prey. Our circadian rhythms are tuned for daylight hours. We wake with the sunrise and get sleepy with the sunset.
We have poor night vision and humans are, from birth, afraid of three things; the dark, falling & loud noises.
However…. some people seem naturally night people, working at their best as the sun goes down and staying up all night to work or play. The rest of us can adjust our rhythms For some people it’s easy, others not so much but we can still do it and usually with only a couple of days to adjust fully. We can work night-shifts and sleep during the day; the exact opposite of what we’ve evolved for. And should our night jobs end and go back to day jobs, we adjust back even quicker. No other animal on the planet has the ability to adjust its natural rhythms as well as we do. Day creatures can be trained to work at night, night creatures can be active during the day, however they are known to be uncomfortable and not at their best during these times.
It makes sense that spaceships would have some kind of day/night cycle to help people maintain normal circadian rhythms. with brighter lights during the day and dimmer lights coming on at night. So, imagine aliens, either nocturnal, diurnal, or crepuscular (most active at twilight). Yet no matter when these aliens wake up, there’s always a human kicking around and doing stuff and they seem to be working at their best like this is their natural time.
Human: *is getting 3am bowl of cereal*
Alien: Why are you awake? According to your biology you should be in a state of rest.
Human: *through a mouthful of crunchy nut* Yeah but I didn’t feel like it
Alien: frowns, but nods
*next morning*
Human: *is munching on crunchy nut*
Alien: wtf I saw you doing this 3 hours ago
Human: *groans* coffee
Alien: Whahat are you doing according to your circadian rythms you should be asleep for at least 4 more hours
Human: gotta go to work my dude
Alien: then why were you awake at 3am
Human: *shrugs* I was hungry
Alien: *internal screaming*