What our chronotype quiz results say about our sleep

What are (briefly) chronotypes

Chronotypes are determined by your inclinations (both genetic and cultural), and they can be thought of as an indication of when you feel most energetic during the day. That may sound confusing, but in simpler terms: this concept represents the individual preference for when to sleep and perform other activities. Three different types have been described – morning (or “lions”), intermediate (or “bears”) and evening (or “wolves”).

It’s scientifically evident that the more synchronised your daily schedules and your circadian-driven sleep/wake schedule are, the smaller your chance of developing health problems. Although intuitive and straightforward, this may make you realise the importance of knowing your chronotype.

What are the results of the last chronotype quiz published on Sunrise by Emma?

The results of the quiz published on Sunrise by Emma are in!

We have analysed over a thousand responses and found that the most common chronotype is the morning type. Moreover, mainly 62% of the female population falls into this type. The next most common group is the intermediate group. In our quiz, almost 30% of the population falls into this group type. Lastly, there were fewer answers from people who fall into the evening type, with only 11.7% of the population falling into this last category

Comparing these findings with the ones from other research, we find very interesting differences. Our data significantly differ from the scientific evidence that those other studies have collected. In general, we would expect the population to have a distribution that resembles the following:

1. Morning types or 'lions' which are 10% of the population,
2. Evening types or 'wolves', which represent 25% of the population,
3. And those in the centre labelled 'intermediates' or 'bears' constitutes 65 per cent of the population.

To recap, we have a significant majority (60%) of the population falling into the morning type, while 20% of the population fall into the intermediate and only 11% are evening types.

Chronotypes’ behaviours

Your chronotype will ultimately shape your sleep behaviours and habits. This means that different chronotypes also have different preferred schedules and habits.

For example, in our results, we observed that:

• Not surprisingly, 85% of people that consume most of their food in the morning are morning types.
• 31% of respondents who eat heavy meals in the afternoon are intermediate types.
• 56% of smokers are morning types.
• And 72% of those who practice physical exercises 4 or more times per week have a morning chronotype, whereas only 8% of those that engage in the same physical activity are evening types.

These results clearly show how one's chronotype can create different habits, which are realised at different times according to different chronotypes. Therefore, it’s not surprising if morning chronotypes are more prone to frequent physical activity as they are the ones who show the most energy during the first part of the day. People with a morning chronotype generally enjoy the most extended exposure to sunlight, which in turn boosts energy and the desire for physical activity.

Sleep quality and satisfaction

Another exciting element of the quiz is the quality of sleep of the respondents. Mainly observed is how:

• 90% of excellent sleepers are morning types,
• 70% of poor sleepers are evening types and,
• Around 30% of average sleepers are intermediate types.

These results are also in line with expectations. If you think about it, those with an evening chronotype also have to deal with the obstacles posed by social conditions.

Whether the participants are young teenagers or career workers, they must keep their appointments. Most of the time, it results in the need to wake up relatively early in the morning and this can be very problematic for those with an evening chronotype.

People with an evening chronotype tend to fall asleep later but still need an average sleep duration of about 7-8 hours. Social conditions such as the start of classes, office opening hours, or routine work appointments force these people to wake up at unnatural times, significantly reducing both their satisfaction with sleep and its objective quality.

Moreover, a person's chronotype is a significant determinant of their sleep satisfaction, which correlates with the amount of sleep they get. Unsurprisingly, in our pool, evening types tend to be more dissatisfied with their sleep, while morning types are more likely to be satisfied. The data collected in this quiz for sleep satisfaction demonstrate a pretty negative situation of our readers’ sleep. 81% of the evening type and 56% of both morning and intermediate types have low sleep satisfaction. Whereas only 15% of the morning type, 10% of the intermediate, and 3% of the evening type are delighted with their sleep quality.

Which chronotype snoozes the most?

Through the collected answers, we could also compare the difference in snoozing behaviour between morning and evening chronotypes. We found that a person’s chronotype is strongly linked with alarm snoozing behaviours, and the explanation doesn’t differ from the one offered before. Briefly:

• 63% of evening types claim to snooze their alarm daily multiple times, whereas only 15% of the morning types claim to do the same.
• On the other hand, 58% of morning types claim to wake up and go out of bed with only one alarm, versus 16% of the evening type.

The quiz also clarifies how the standardised time of our society doesn’t fit everyone. Specifically, in these conditions, the evening types are highly disadvantaged because they have to force themselves into unnatural sleep schedules. For this reason, Emma's Sleep Experts join the call made by other doctors and sleep experts around the globe, who have been clamouring to readjust - for example - the start time of school lessons to make school more inclusive for all different chronotypes.

Takeaway

The most important lesson to take away from this is that chronotype is a spectrum with no bad types.

Even if your results don't match up with what you expected, they can help you figure out how you might want to change something in your life so that it makes more sense for who you are. Moreover, you can use the advice listed at the end of the quiz to improve (almost) every aspect of your sleep routine. In this way, you might be able to obtain a more excellent synchronisation between your daily schedules and your circadian-driven sleep/wake schedule.