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What's Your Chronotype (& What Does It Say About Your Sleep Quality)?

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Chronobiology is a field of biology that studies the internal clocks of living organisms. A chronotype, then, is a biological predisposition to be a morning person, an evening person or somewhere in between. According to Michael J. Breus, PhD, and sleep doctor to the stars (like Oprah) in his book, The Power of When: Discover Your Chronotype—and the Best Time to Eat Lunch, Ask for a Raise, Have Sex, Write a Novel, Take Your Meds and More, there are four chronotypes: Lions, dolphins, wolves and bears. Take this quick quiz to find out which one you are, but first, a little more background.

What Do the 4 Chronotypes Mean?

You can learn more about your specific chronotype after taking the quiz below, but in general:

  • Lions wake up early with lots of energy.
  • Dolphins are light sleepers who are often diagnosed with insomnia.
  • Wolves are most energetic in the evenings.
  • Bears need a full eight hours of sleep every night.

Why Does My Chronotype Matter?

First and foremost, understanding your chronotype can help you tailor your schedule to your natural circadian rhythm so you’re not swimming upstream when it comes to productivity (more on that later). In addition to the sleep and schedule-related implications, some research suggests that the different chronotypes also correlate to specific personality traits and can even have an impact on physical health. For example, this 2007 study published in Personality and Individual Differences concluded that evening types score higher than early birds when it comes to creative thinking, while morning people are more likely to be extraverted, agreeable, conscientious and generally healthier—or so says this 2017 study published in SAGE Open.

Bottom line: Your chronotype can have an impact on your personality, sleep behavior and general health…and while there’s not much you can do about it, you can make small changes to ensure that you and your chronotype are living in harmony.


1.

Do You Wake Up to an Alarm?

Yep

Nope

2.

What’s the First Thing You Drink in the Morning?

Robert Jordan Neil Sanchez/getty images

Coffee

rawintanpin/getty images

Water

Alexthq/getty images

Tea

KucherAV/getty images

A Triple Espresso

3.

Do You Ever Have Trouble Falling Asleep?

Yes

No

4.

When During the Day Do You Feel Most Productive?

My time to shine is 4 p.m.—no afternoon slump here!

Around 11 a.m., gotta wait for my coffee to hit.

I'm firing on all cylinders into the wee hours of the night.

Bright and early—I'm ready to go the second I wake up.

5.

Which Emoji Represents You at 8 a.m.?

emojipedia

emojipedia

emojipedia

emojipedia

6.

What About 8 p.m.?

emojipedia

emojipedia

emojipedia

emojipedia

7.

When Do You Prefer to Exercise?

Ideally in the middle of the day.

First thing in the morning.

It doesn't really matter.

After work.

8.

Which of These Is Most Essential to a Good Night’s Sleep?

Kilito Chan/getty images

A good eye mask.

Grace Cary/getty images

Melatonin gummies.

d3sign/getty images

My alarm clock (lest I oversleep).

Catherine McQueen/getty images

The heaviest weighted blanket I can find.

9.

True or False: I’m More or Less Happy with My Sleep

True

False

10.

Choose a Meal:

twenty20

Breakfast

twenty20

Lunch

twenty20

Dinner

twenty20

Snacks

11.

How Long Does It Typically Take You to Fall Asleep?

I'm out the second my head hits the pillow.

I usually toss and turn for hours.

Less than 30 minutes.

Usually an hour or so.


sarah stiefvater

Wellness Director

Sarah Stiefvater is PureWow's Wellness Director. She's been at PureWow for ten years, and in that time has written and edited stories across all categories, but currently focuses...