What's My Chronotype and Why Does It Matter?

Understand your natural internal alarm clock so that you can achieve sleep success and overall wellness.

We're Easing Your Mental Load with our New Care Logs Reading What's My Chronotype and Why Does It Matter? 7 minutes Next What You Need to Know About Parental Burnout…and How Care Logs Can Help

By Nanit Team

What Exactly is a Chronotype?

A chronotype is your body's natural inclination to sleep and wake at certain times. It’s like your personal internal clock, dictating when you feel alert or sleepy, when you're most productive, and even when you're likely to be hungry. Understanding your chronotype can help you tailor your schedule to fit your natural rhythms, leading to a more harmonious and productive life.

“All of us have an innate chronotype, in that everyone has a natural inclination to fall asleep at a certain time,” Dr. Sujay Kansagra (@thatsleepdoc) told our own Dr. Maristella Lucchini (Nanit Lab) at a recent Parent Like a Pro Summit. “It’s dependent on genetics and age. In young adulthood, we have a shift towards night hours. In our later years, we tend to be early birds. You can figure out your natural chronotype by taking a test online to help you see patterns and better understand your unique needs.”

Meet the Chronotypes: Bear, Lion, Dolphin, and Wolf

Forget the old-school early bird and night owl labels; today’s chronotypes are far more sophisticated and nuanced. Let’s get to know the four main types: Bear, Lion, Dolphin, and Wolf.

The Bear: The Daytime Champion

If you find yourself syncing well with the rise and fall of the sun, you might be a Bear. Bears make up about 50% of the population and their energy peaks during daylight hours. They typically wake up and go to bed easily, and their productivity ebbs and flows with the sun.

Why it Matters:

Best Time for Productivity: Bears should tackle important tasks mid-morning, when they’re at their most alert.
Health Tip: Ensure you get plenty of sunlight during the day to maintain your energy levels.
Relationship Insight: Bears should plan social activities and workouts during daylight to match their natural energy peaks.

Lifestyle Tips for Bears:

Morning Glory: Schedule important meetings and tasks for mid-morning.
Sunshine Boost: Get plenty of natural light during the day.
Early Wind Down: Create a relaxing evening routine to signal it’s time to sleep.

The Lion: The Early Riser

Lions are the go-getters of the early morning. They wake up at dawn and often feel most productive before lunchtime. By evening, they’re winding down and ready for bed early.

Why it Matters:

Best Time for Productivity: Lions excel at tackling their to-do lists early in the morning.
Health Tip: Avoid heavy meals and caffeine late in the day to ensure a good night’s rest.
Relationship Insight: Communicate with your night owl friends and partners to plan activities that respect your early bedtime.

Lifestyle Tips for Lions:

Early Bird Tasks: Tackle big projects first thing in the morning.
Light Dinners: Avoid heavy meals late in the day.
Evening Relaxation: Wind down activities before your early bedtime.

The Dolphin: The Sleep Struggler

Dolphins are light sleepers who often struggle with insomnia. They are the rarest chronotype, known for being highly intelligent but having erratic sleep patterns. Dolphins tend to wake up feeling unrefreshed and hit their stride in the late morning.

Why it Matters:

Best Time for Productivity: Dolphins should schedule demanding tasks for late morning or early afternoon.
Health Tip: Establish a strict sleep routine and create a calming bedtime environment.
Relationship Insight: Be understanding of your unique sleep needs and communicate them to those around you.

Lifestyle Tips for Dolphins:

Late Morning Start: Schedule key tasks for late morning.
Strict Routine: Stick to a consistent sleep schedule.
Calm Nights: Create a peaceful bedtime environment to aid sleep.

The Wolf: The Night Owl

Wolves are the quintessential night owls, feeling most alive when the sun goes down. They often struggle to wake up early but hit their peak productivity in the late afternoon and evening.

Why it Matters:

Best Time for Productivity: Wolves should schedule creative and demanding tasks for the evening.
Health Tip: Gradually adjust your wake-up time if you need to align more closely with the typical workday.
Relationship Insight: Respect your need for a later schedule and plan social activities accordingly.

Lifestyle Tips for Wolves:

Evening Productivity: Plan your most demanding tasks for late afternoon or evening.
Gradual Wake Up: Slowly adjust your wake-up time if needed.
Respect Night Time: Acknowledge your need for a later schedule and plan accordingly.

Why Understanding Your Chronotype Matters

Knowing your chronotype isn’t just a fun personality quiz result; it has real implications for your health, productivity, and overall well-being. By aligning your tasks with your natural energy peaks, you can get more done with less effort. Bears and Lions should tackle high-focus tasks in the morning, while Wolves and Dolphins might save their heavy lifting for later in the day.

Improve Your Health

Chronotype misalignment, such as a Wolf trying to conform to a 9-5 schedule, can lead to sleep disorders, stress, and even chronic health conditions. By honoring your natural rhythm, you can improve sleep quality, boost mental clarity, and enhance overall health.

Enhance Your Relationships

Understanding that your partner, friends, or colleagues might have a different chronotype can improve communication and reduce friction. Plan activities and discussions for times when everyone is at their best to foster better interactions.

Understanding Your Chronotype

Curious about which chronotype you are? There are plenty of online quizzes designed by sleep experts to help you determine your type. Once you know, you can start making small adjustments to better align your lifestyle with your natural rhythms.

Understanding and embracing your chronotype is about more than just sleep; it’s about living in harmony with your body’s natural rhythms. Whether you're a daylight-loving Bear, an early-rising Lion, an insomniac Dolphin, or a nocturnal Wolf, recognizing your unique pattern can help you live a healthier, more productive, and happier life.

So next time you're struggling to fit into someone else's schedule, remember: it’s not you, it’s your chronotype. Embrace it, optimize your life around it, and enjoy the benefits of living in sync with your internal clock. Here's to a life perfectly timed!

To learn more about chronotypes and how they work, Dr. Maristella breaks down the three most common types as part of Nanit’s Techtok series. Check out the video below.

@getnanit Chronotypes 🤝 parenting #nanittechtoks #parentsleep #chronotypes #sleepover ♬ Sunshine - WIRA

Nanit is dedicated to delivering high-quality, reliable content for our readers. Our Parent Confidently articles are crafted by experienced parenting contributors and are firmly rooted in data and research. To ensure the accuracy and relevance of the content, all articles undergo a rigorous review process by our team of parenting experts. Additionally, our wellness-related content receives further scrutiny from Nanit Lab, our think tank of scientists, engineers, physicians, academic experts, and thought leaders.

Our primary objective is to furnish readers with the most current, trustworthy, and actionable information concerning a host of parenting topics. We strive to empower our readers to make informed decisions by offering comprehensive and respected insights.

In pursuit of transparency and credibility, our articles incorporate credible third-party sources, peer-reviewed studies, and abstracts. These sources are directly linked within the text or provided at the bottom of the articles to grant readers easy access to the source material.

CONTRIBUTORS

Natalie Barnett, PhD serves as VP of Clinical Research at Nanit. Natalie initiated sleep research collaborations at Nanit and in her current role, Natalie oversees collaborations with researchers at hospitals and universities around the world who use the Nanit camera to better understand pediatric sleep and leads the internal sleep and development research programs at Nanit. Natalie holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of New England in Australia and a Postgraduate Certificate in Pediatric Sleep Science from the University of Western Australia. Natalie was an Assistant Professor in the Neurogenetics Unit at NYU School of Medicine prior to joining Nanit. Natalie is also the voice of Nanit's science-backed, personalized sleep tips delivered to users throughout their baby's first few years.

Kristy Ojala is Nanit’s Digital Content Director. She spends way too much time looking at maps and weather forecasts and pictures of Devon Rex cats and no-cook dinners. A former sleep champion, she strives to share trustworthy somnabulism tips with other parents—praying for that one fine day when no tiny humans wake her up while it’s still dark out. Her kids highly recommend 3 books, approximately 600 stuffies, Chopin’s “Nocturnes,” and the Nanit Sound + Light for bedtime success.

Mackenzie Sangster is on the Brand and Community team at Nanit. She supports content development and editing for Nanit’s Parent Confidently blog as well as other marketing initiatives. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her friends, cooking, being active, and using the Pro + Flex Duo to keep an eye on her fur-baby, Poppy!

Holly Hays is a contributor and writer for Nanit, channeling her years as a mama and former magazine editor to create fun, useful content for fellow busy, trying-to-do-their-best parents and caregivers. Holly has written for a wide range of brands and media outlets (Ergobaby, HGTV, Manhattan Toy Company, OXO), loves to cook and read mystery novels, and leans heavily on her two daughters to keep her up to date on all the latest slang.