Sleep chronotypes: discover yours

It may seem like an excuse for being lazy, but not everyone has extreme disposition or high productivity in the morning. However, that does not mean that there is something wrong with it. The truth is that each individual has a specific circadian rhythm. This rhythm regulates the entire functioning of the human body, from the activity of the organism to the waking-sleep state. In this sense, each person has a sleep chronotype and knowing yours is a determining factor for you to know how to make the best use of your biological time to do things at the right time. Discover the main sleep chronotypes.

Sleep chronotypes: what are they?

The circadian cycle, originating from the Latin circa (about) and diem (day), is the 24-hour period on which the biological cycle of almost all living beings is based. Thus, the chronotype can be defined as the natural predisposition that each individual has to feel peaks of energy or tiredness, according to the time of day.

In other words, the chronotype follows a variable body rhythm of disposition, relating to the hours most suitable for waking up and sleeping for each person, in which the person presents greater or lesser performance in their activities at a certain time of the day.

This temporal characteristic of the organism explains why some people are more active during the day and others at night.

What is your sleep chronotype?

It is due to the production stages of melatonin that people have different chronotypes.

Morning chronotype

The peak of melatonin production occurs before midnight. They are individuals who need to go to bed early and are most active in the early hours of the day. In general, they sleep between 10 pm and 6 am.

Afternoon chronotype

The peak happens much later, at 6 am. They are those people who do better at night, but need to prolong their rest until early in the morning. Sleep time is usually between 3 am and 11 am.

Intermediate chronotype

The remaining half of the population has an average chronotype, that is, the melatonin peak occurs at 3 am. They usually sleep between midnight and 8 am.

The pineal gland is responsible for releasing melatonin, which reaches the blood system and all cells in the body almost simultaneously. The maximum peak occurs every 24 hours, when our biological clock is “reset”, starting a new cycle.

Understanding how your body works through adequate sleep and exploring your energy peaks throughout the day will greatly benefit your productivity levels.

To make the most of your days, discover your best moments to get maximum productivity and make key decisions. Evaluate your best time to meditate or play sports, when is the right time to have a coffee, have a light snack and even the ideal time to go to sleep.