What is a chronotype?

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A chronotype is a genetic predisposition that determines whether you are a morning person, an evening person, or somewhere in between. This concept divides people into three categories: "morning types" (larks), "evening types" (owls), and those who are neither. About 30% of the population leans towards being morning types, around 40% are neither strongly morning nor evening, and the remaining 30% are evening types. This aspect of your biological makeup influences your preferred sleep and wake times, with morning types typically going to bed and waking up earlier compared to evening types who tend to stay up late and wake up later. Your chronotype is hardwired into your genes and influences the optimal timing of your sleep to achieve adequate deep and REM sleep cycles 1.

Sleep Chronotypes

Matthew explains how our genes determine our sleep chronotype, which can be morning, evening, or somewhere in between. He also emphasizes the importance of positioning sleep in the optimal eight-hour period for your chronotype to get the right amount of deep and REM sleep.

Found My Fitness

Dr. Matthew Walker on Sleep for Enhancing Learning, Creativity, Immunity, and Glymphatic System
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