Sleep Better With Runtastic #4: What Type Of Sleeper Are You?

We all know, the proverbial early bird catches the worm. But, who cares about the worm? Do YOU?

Whether you’re a morning or an evening person mainly depends on your genes. This predisposition is called chronotype. The two existing chronotypes derive their names from the animal kingdom: there are larks and owls.

Unfortunately, we can’t choose what type of sleeper we are. Most people are a mix of lark and owl–a lowl, if you will. However, real owls and larks actually exist.

Are you a lark?
Do you believe that the early bird catches the worm? If so, you’ve got something in common with our CEO, Florian: you’re a lark.

Larks get tired earlier in the evening, but are also up earlier in the morning and, they do it with a smile on their face. For larks, it’s not easy to add a few hours of sleep in the morning as that’s when they are most active. If larks need more sleep, they should just go to sleep earlier.

Tips for larks – how to make the most of their day:

• Make use of your morning power to check as many items as possible off your to do list
• Relax in the evening by reading a book or conclude the day in a peaceful atmosphere

Are you an owl?
“Getting up early is the first step in the wrong direction.” Can you relate to this phrase? Then, you’re most likely an owl.

Owls characteristically go to bed quite late and can easily sleep in in the morning. If an owl needs more sleep, they try to get it adding a few hours in the morning. Their most productive time of day is in the evening. That’s why owls often struggle with our classical, 9-to-5 working hours.

Tips for owls – how to rise and shine:

• Drink a large glass of water in the morning to kick-start circulation
• Open the window and do a few stretches to get active

We all have our personal body clock that influences us and is connected to our daily routine. Inconvenient working or training hours can lead to a so-called social jetlag, as they force us to work against our body clock. Kind of as if you were living in the Pacific Time Zone while working the hours of a Central Time Zone based company, meaning you’d have to get up two hours early every day.

PS: Whether you’re a morning or an evening person has nothing to do with short and long sleepers. Short sleepers simply need less sleep than long sleepers; therefore, long sleepers who go to bed early can still be early birds.

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