Result Brarzany once said “Your future depends on your dreams. So go to sleep!” and I simply could not agree more. Sleeping makes me human and it’s something I unequivocally cherish more and more the older I get (sorry bout those first few moths of life mom and dad – I just didn’t get it yet! ha!). Thankfully, sleep and I have a generally great relationship; I’m usually able to fall asleep in under five minutes each night, but after watching how difficult it can be for Cameron to fall – and stay – asleep I do know that isn’t the case with everyone. So! In honor of the extra hour of sleep we got yesterday with daylight savings time, I thought it would be fun to do a bit of research on the different types of sleep schedules.
It turns out that your preferred sleep scheduled is called a person’s chronotype. As of late last year, the National Sleep Foundation recognizes four different chronotypes.
Owl: As you may expect due to the “night owl” nickname, someone who has this chronotype typically shows higher energy levels at 9 p.m. than at 9 a.m.
Lark: Conversely, the lark is the early riser who functions best in the morning. The lark’s peak energy and focus typically shows up around 9 a.m.
Energetic: This is a group of people who feel relatively sprightly in the late morning or early evening. The mid-day peak group, if you will.
Lethargic: Finally, this is group who describe feeling relatively dozy in both the morning and evening.
In a study done by the Academy of Sciences in Russia, the largest percentage of people fell into the owl category (34%) followed closely by the lethargic group (25%). The larks (22%) and energetic (19%) people rounded out the categorizations.
I think I fall into the energetic group. Anyone who knows me will attest that I am not a morning person, yet I’m also not a night owl. I find mid-morning and mid-afternoon are when I’m most focused and most energetic which puts me in the third group. What about you? What’s your chronotype?
You can read more about the four different types of sleep schedules and the study that discovered the latter two in this Atlantic article if you are interested. I also created an infographic on some fun facts about sleep if you are curious. After all, the more you know – happy sleeping!
