The Bear Chronotype: Your Daily Guide

If you’re a Bear, this is your guide to living in line with your body’s natural rhythm.

What Is the Bear Chronotype?

Time doesn’t just run on your phone or watch. Your body has an internal clock as well – your circadian rhythm. Even if you lived in total darkness without any technology, your body would still have an internal sense of time. You would still feel sleepy at roughly the same time you do now.

But not everyone’s internal clocks run on the same time. Lions (also known as ‘morning larks’ or, in science, M-types) have advanced sleep phases, which means they wake up and go to bed earlier [2]. Wolves (also known as ‘night owls’ or E-types) have delayed sleep phases, which means they wake up and go to bed later [2].

As a Bear, though, you fall right in the middle. You’re an intermediate or N-type – just like ~52% of Australians [3]. You like to get up around 6:30 am and go to bed at around 10 pm, with your energy peaking at around 10:30 am.

Your chronotype is heavily influenced by your genes. Yours are probably a mix of Lion and Wolf variations. Other factors, like age, also affect your chronotype (older people are more likely to be Lions and Bears than Wolves).

Olivia on Bears

Here’s what Olivia Arrezolo, Australia’s leading sleep expert and author of Bear, Lion or Wolf, says about Bears.

Grounded, level-headed, humble and reliable – if you are a bear, others can depend on you, day or night, whatever the request.

Known as a hard-working team player, you love to be in a group and find yourself most motivated when you’re part of a team, whether for work or pleasure.

As a partner, you’re generous and giving and typically put the needs of your loved one before your own.

This extends to your family and closest friends too.

Can Your Chronotype Change?

Yes, your chronotype can change across your lifespan. As we age, our internal clocks move forward, which means we tend to rise and sleep earlier than we did when we were younger. You might progress from a Bear to a Lion or just become an earlier-rising Bear. Your genes, though, stay the same – you won’t ever become a Wolf.

Keep in mind that sleep behaviour and chronotype are different. If you kept going to bed at 12 am and waking up at 8:30 am, for example, your body would become used to that schedule. But your energy levels and sleep quality would be worse than if you’d aligned your lifestyle with your circadian rhythm.

Your Energy Levels as a Bear

Use the following science-based schedule to align your lifestyle with your chronotype.

6:30 am: Wake Up

Bears typically wake up around 6:30 am. That time can vary between people, though, and might shift by up to an hour either way between seasons.

Go outside and get sunlight in your eyes within 30 minutes of waking for at least 5 minutes. Light is our most important zeitgeber (‘time-giver’), and being exposed to early morning sunlight can help certain cells in our eyes reset or ‘entrain’ our internal clocks.

If you can’t view morning sunlight, use a SAD lamp instead. They’re popular for treating seasonal affective disorder during the cold, dark winters of the Northern Hemisphere. Make sure you purchase a 10,000-lux model – less powerful models won’t be as effective.

It’s also a good idea to start your day with a big glass of water. (If you’ve slept through the night, your body hasn’t received any fluids for over 8 hours.) Drinking helps us feel full, so have your water before your breakfast.

Hydrated? It’s time for breakfast. Try consuming a balanced meal that includes protein, fats and carbs. If you like exercising in the morning, eating afterwards is completely fine.

One cup (220 grams) of rolled oats cooked in hot water, for example, has around 30 grams of protein, 20 grams of fat, and 120 grams of carbs – a quick, affordable, healthy meal that’s vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free. You can spice things up by:

• using dairy or non-dairy milk instead of water
• creating Bircher muesli, making porridge, or blending up oats in a smoothie
• adding extras like nuts, seeds, fruit, honey and yoghurt.

10:30 am: Peak Energy

As a Bear, your energy levels will be at their highest from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, peaking at around 10:30 am. This is the time of day when your body and brain are at their best. Schedule your most challenging activities – outdoor work, stressful appointments, hard conversations – during this window. 

3:15 pm: Rest

From 2:30 pm to 4 pm, your energy levels will drop, reaching their lowest point at around 3:15 pm. If you feel like a daytime nap, now is a good time. Olivia Arrezolo, Australia’s leading sleep expert, recommends following 3 simple ‘nap rules’.

1. Keep it under 30 minutes. Napping longer can cause you to drift into a deeper sleep, leaving you feeling groggy upon waking.
2. Wear an eye mask and make your sleeping space as dark as possible.
3. Don’t nap later than 3:30 pm. Sleep is caused by the buildup of a chemical in our brains, adenosine. If we release too much of that buildup too late, we’ll struggle to get to sleep later in the evening.

Don’t need a nap? Reserve this window for quiet, low-energy activities like reading, listening to podcasts/music, crocheting, drawing, breathwork, or writing. If you can, do those activities outside on your lawn or under a tree.

4:00 pm: Last Coffee

Sorry – as a Bear, after-dinner coffees will compromise your sleep. Have your last coffee by 4 pm latest (the earlier, the better) [5]. Some studies even suggest that your last coffee should be around 9 hours – that’s 1 pm – before bed [6].  

Caffeine has a half-life of 4 to 5 hours in most people. That means, if you have an espresso shot with 75 grams of caffeine at 4 pm, you’ll still have 37.5 grams of caffeine in your blood by 9 pm. Even relatively small amounts of caffeine can reduce your sleep efficiency and your deep sleep [6]. 

8:00 pm: Last Meal

The later we eat, the worse our sleep is likely to be [7]. Meals are a zeitgeber that tells our bodies ‘it’s time to be awake’. Digesting food also increases our body temperature, which makes it harder for us to sleep well.

Keep your final meal relatively light, finish eating by 8 pm, and get a healthy balance of protein, carbs and fats. (Breakfast and lunch should be your biggest meals of the day.) If possible, avoid stimulants like sugar-laden desserts – try a piece of fruit instead.

8:30 pm: Lights Down

Light is one of our biggest zeitgebers. Seeing bright light at night – particularly blue light, the kind emitted by screens – disrupts our circadian rhythm and makes us feel more alert.

To help your body realise it’s nighttime, reduce the use of bright lights as much as possible. Use soft, dim lamps and overheads to illuminate key areas of your home. If you’re using a Kindle or screen-based reader, set it to automatically switch to night/sleep mode at 8:30 pm.

Eyesight less than great? Buy a pair of blue light glasses as well. The anti-blue-light coating on them can help you reduce circadian disruption without making your home too dark.

9 pm: Wind Down

By 9 pm, you should feel pleasantly tired. Bring your body back to baseline with a personalised sleep routine. Here are a few tips you can use to build yours.

Things to Try

• See if meditation or mindfulness can help you relax. You can find various free mindfulness exercises here and here. If you prefer a guided experience, apps like Waking Up can be good options.
• Think about trialling an essential oil diffuser. Certain scents, including lavender and chamomile, have been scientifically proven to help us relax [8]. You can get a cheap diffuser from Kmart for as little as $20, but don’t skimp on the oils – you want 100% pure essential oils (no artificial additives).
• It’s better to avoid drinking fluids before bed, but, if you feel dehydrated, try a warm cup of chamomile tea, warm milk with honey, or warm water mixed with an adaptogen like reishi powder. Adding electrolytes to your drink may also make it less likely that you need to visit the bathroom at night.  
• Put on relaxing music. ‘Weightless’ by Marconi Union is an example of ‘anti-anxiety’ music – a track specifically developed to help people relax. Many people also find binaural beats and brown noise soothing.  
• Have a warm bath or shower. You’ll increase vasodilation, which means your body will lose heat faster. That, in turn, lowers your core body temperature – which helps you feel sleepy. A full-body bath for at least 10 minutes is ideal, but a shorter shower or a foot bath can also work [hag].

Things to Avoid

• Avoid stimulation. That means no movies, no screen-based games, no social media, and no loud or aggressive music.
• Avoid stress. Don’t think about stressful situations, write hard text, or talk to people who trigger you. Avoid watching the news and doomscrolling (reading news online). Everything can wait until tomorrow – this is your time to prioritise yourself.
  • As a Bear, you might find being in the moment difficult. If you’re having difficulty letting go of unhelpful thoughts, try cognitive diffusion exercises.
• Avoid anything other than light movement. If possible, do activities like dishwashing earlier in the evening.
• Don’t drink alcohol.

10 pm: Sleep

It’s time to give your body the rest it needs. Head into your sleep sanctuary, turn off the lights, and make sure your room is dark and cool.

Movement for Bear Chronotypes

There’s no evidence that specific types of exercise are good for Bears. Instead, try to follow these movement basics.

• Do at least 2 to 3 sets of one to 2 resistance training exercises, 2 to 3 times per week, at a moderate intensity. Work with a personal trainer to develop a program that matches your skill level and supports your body’s needs [10].
• Do at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise [11].
• If you have time, add balance activities like tai chi or yoga to help reduce your risk of falls [10].

Remember: the more you move, the better. Being active is one of the most important things you can do for your physical and mental health – second only to sleep. (And the evidence shows that regular exercise actually improves sleep quality [12].) Aim to move your body for at least 30 minutes a day, even if it’s as simple as a walk down the street.

You’ll probably perform best during your peak energy window, but don’t let that stop you from exercising at other times of day. If possible, though, avoid intense exercise after 6 pm [13]. Exercise is a form of stress that activates your sympathetic nervous system. When that activation happens in the 4 hours before bed, it can affect almost every aspect of your sleep [13].

Nutrition for Bear Chronotypes

There’s no evidence that Bears should eat specific foods. Many people, though, can benefit from following a balanced eating pattern high in fibre and protein.

1. Get 80% of your calories from single-ingredient foods (fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat and fish, eggs, dairy, nuts and seeds).
2. Eat at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
3. Consume one to 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day.
4. Get 30 ‘plant points’ per week.
5. Consume at least 0.75 grams of fibre per kilogram of bodyweight per day.

Fixing your sleep can help you lose weight, particularly if you’ve reached menopause, so most healthy older adults don’t need to worry about eating too much protein. In fact, it’s much more likely that you’ll be eating too little protein (which can lead to various health problems).

Sleep Surfaces for Bears

Your ideal sleep surface will vary based on your body type and preferred sleeping position. As a Bear, you’re likely to have a higher BMI than Lions, which means you might benefit from a medium or medium-firm mattress that better supports your body.

Choosing a sleep surface with effective cooling is also important. Our body temperature has a big impact on our sleep [14]. If you’re too hot, you’ll struggle to fall and stay asleep.

All Seniors Plus mattresses, for example, feature Cool Gel memory foam. Your body heat is absorbed by thermal gel beads infused into the memory foam – which has a more open matrix than standard memory foams. That cooling effect is enhanced by a top layer of CELLIANT, a proprietary blend of minerals that converts body heat into infrared energy.

Whatever sleep surface you end up choosing, make sure it’s supportive, comfortable and cool. You’ll spend around 2,740 hours a year on it – and it’s a critical part of getting good sleep. A good bed is worth investing in.

The information contained in this article is general information only. It should not be construed or used as medical or healthcare advice. For personalised advice, book a consultation with a qualified and registered medical or allied healthcare professional.