Sleep Chronotype Quiz
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Which Chronotype Are You?
Lion
You’re awake at sunrise, hungry and full of energy. You perform best in the morning.
Bear
You stay in sync with the day, solid and dependable. You perform best from late morning to midday.
Wolf
You rise late and stay up with the pack. You perform best in the evening.
Can I Change My Chronotype?
Your chronotype is determined by 2 things: your genetics and your zeitgebers (‘time givers’).
Zeitgebers are external factors like light, temperature, movement and food.
You can’t change your genetics, but you can control your zeitgebers – which may impact your chronotype.
Is the ‘Dolphin’ a Chronotype?
Some sleep websites claim that a fourth chronotype exists: the Dolphin.
Dolphins have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep.
According to most peer-reviewed research, though, there are only 3 chronotypes: morning-types (Lions), evening-types (Wolves), and intermediate-types (Bears).
Olivia Arezzolo, Australia’s leading sleep expert, agrees.
'Based on my own research and experiences with my clients, I believe the Dolphin chronotype is more likely to be an extreme version of the Wolf.'
Chronotype FAQs
How do I figure out my chronotype?
The easiest way to work out your circadian rhythm is to take a free online quiz like this one.
You can also check your inner ear temperature. It’s the best way to non-invasively measure core body temperature, which is regulated by your circadian rhythm. Your temperature should be at its lowest around 3 to 5 am and its highest around 5 to 7 pm. Your ideal sleep time is around 4 to 6 hours before your lowest point.
Try checking your temperature every hour you’re awake for a week. Make sure you maintain the same schedule – eating, air temperature, and movement can all affect your body temperature. While you probably won’t be able to measure your temperature at its lowest point (that normally occurs when you’re asleep), the lowest and highest points are normally around 14 hours apart.
If you found your highest temperature occurred at 5 pm, for example, your lowest temperature would probably occur around 3 am, which means your ideal bedtime would be 9 pm.
How true are chronotypes?
The 3 chronotypes – morning-types (Lions), evening-types (Wolves), and neither-types (Bears) – have been validated by hundreds of scientific studies. For a free, peer-reviewed overview of chronotypes, try reading ‘Beyond sleep: A multidimensional model of chronotype’ by Chauhan et al or ‘Biological Rhythm and Chronotype: New Perspectives in Health’ by Montaruli et al.
You can also read our plain English guide to circadian rhythms here.
What are the 4 chronotypes of sleep?
According to Dr Michael Breus, founder of the Sleep Doctor website, the 4 chronotypes are Lion, Bear, Wolf and Dolphin. However, most sleep experts, including Olivia Arezzolo, agree that there are only 3 chronotypes: M-types (Lions), E-types (Wolves), and N-types (Bears). That view is backed by decades of scientific consensus.
What chronotype is ADHD?
ADHD isn’t a chronotype, but many people with ADHD tend to be Wolves (night owls or E-types) who sleep poorly. Exactly why isn’t clear. One reason could be that Wolves often get less sleep than they need, which can cause ADHD-like symptoms or make existing ADHD worse.
What is the rarest chronotype?
Around 40% of people are Lions and Wolves, making those 2 chronotypes rarer than Bears. As we age, our circadian rhythms move forward, which means older adults are more likely to be Bears or Lions than Wolves.
