by Terri
The natural time your body prefers to sleep is called your chronotype. Everyone is unique on where they lie on a spectrum. They say that early birds (sometimes called "larks") and night owls are born, not made. There are tests all over the internet to help you determine what your chronotype is but most of us don’t need a test to tell us. We probably already know what our type is. Self-awareness of chronotype is a very accurate predictor.
The majority of people are an intermediate or average type and prefer to get up in the morning between 6:30 and 8:30 and go to bed at night between 10:30 and 12:30. I’ve always said I’m neither an early bird nor a night owl, but a “daytime person”. I don’t like getting up before 7:00 if I can help it and am not fond of staying up later than 11.
But what do you do when your chronotype vastly differs from your spouse or person you live with? My husband is usually up between 4-5:00 in the morning and asleep by 8:00 at night – definitely a morning person. While I’m not by any means a night owl, my preferred times to wake and go to sleep are vastly different from my husband’s – I prefer a 7 to 11 schedule, making me an intermediate or average person.
Most experts advise sleeping at the times when your body prefers to when possible and we have managed to work around each of our preferred sleeping times. However, when we are planning a trip and my husband wants to take the 5:00 a.m. flight, I draw the line!
So what is your chronotype? Are you an early bird or a night owl or somewhere in between? Are you an early bird out of necessity because you work but would really rather be a night owl if you had your choice? Is the sunrise something you never see because you'd rather sleep in? Do you stay at a party with your night owl husband long after you'd rather be home in bed? If your chronotype differs from your spouse, how have you been able to work that out? Please share your thoughts in the comments below or in our Facebook group. We'd love to hear!