Discover your biological chronotype and find out how well your daily schedule aligns with your internal clock. Get a personalised protocol based on your results.
Question 1 of 9Chronotype
If you had no obligations, what time would you naturally wake up?
Question 2 of 9Chronotype
When do you feel most alert and mentally sharp?
Question 3 of 9Chronotype
What time do you typically fall asleep?
Question 4 of 9Alignment
Do you get natural light within 30 minutes of waking?
Question 5 of 9Alignment
How consistent is your sleep/wake time day to day?
Question 6 of 9Alignment
When do you eat your first meal?
Question 7 of 9Alignment
How much screen light do you get after 9pm?
Question 8 of 9Alignment
When do you exercise (if at all)?
Question 9 of 9Alignment
How often do you need an alarm to wake up?
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Morning Sunlight Protocol
Why the first hour after waking is the most important for your circadian health
Circadian Medicine
Why when you take medication matters as much as what you take
How Your Eyes Set Your Body Clock
The non-visual light pathway that controls your circadian rhythm
A chronotype is your genetically influenced preference for the timing of sleep, wakefulness, and peak cognitive and physical performance across the 24-hour day. It is not simply a preference or habit — it reflects differences in the circadian clock genes (particularly PER3, CLOCK, BMAL1, and CRY genes) that regulate the timing of cortisol release, melatonin onset, body temperature rhythm, and dozens of other biological processes. The Munich Chronotype Questionnaire developed by Till Roenneberg at Ludwig Maximilian University has been completed by over 270,000 people and provides the most comprehensive population-level dataset on chronotype distribution, showing a clear normal distribution from extreme morning types to extreme evening types with most people somewhere in the middle.
Sleep researcher Michael Breus popularised a four-type system — Lions, Bears, Wolves, and Dolphins — that maps onto the underlying biology of early, intermediate, late, and irregular chronotypes. This framework has practical utility for scheduling because it translates the science into actionable timing recommendations for when to exercise, eat, make important decisions, and disengage from stimulating activity before sleep.
Social jetlag — the chronic mismatch between an individual's biological clock and the socially imposed schedule of school, work, and daily life — is one of the most underappreciated drivers of metabolic disease, cognitive impairment, and mood disorders in modern populations. Roenneberg's research found that over 80% of working adults in Western countries experience social jetlag equivalent to regularly flying between time zones, with the average mismatch being approximately 1–2 hours between biological and social wake time. People with significant social jetlag have higher rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and poor academic performance — effects that persist after controlling for total sleep duration, confirming that timing matters independently of quantity.
Evening chronotypes face the largest burden because societal structures are built around morning norms. A 2018 study in Chronobiology International found that evening types had a 10% higher all-cause mortality risk over a 6.5-year follow-up period compared to morning types, an effect attributed primarily to greater social jetlag exposure. Understanding your chronotype is the first step toward making scheduling decisions that reduce this mismatch.
Knowing your chronotype gives you a personalised template for daily scheduling. Morning types (Lions) reach peak alertness and cognitive performance between 8 am and 12 pm and should schedule demanding analytical work, important meetings, and exercise for this window. Their energy typically drops in the early afternoon, making this a natural time for routine tasks or a short rest. Evening types (Wolves) reach peak performance in the early evening and often function at their sharpest between 6 pm and 10 pm; forcing early morning cognitive work imposes a performance cost that strategic scheduling can avoid. Bears — the majority chronotype — track roughly with solar time and perform best in the mid-morning to early afternoon. Dolphins, characterised by light, fragmented sleep and high sleep anxiety, benefit most from strict sleep hygiene protocols and consistent wake times regardless of when they feel ready.
Go Deeper
How your genetic sleep timing affects metabolism, cognitive performance, and longevity — and why circadian misalignment is a hidden health risk.
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