Each of us has an innate sleeping style that can affect every part of our life, from personal to professional. Finding your own can help make the most of the hours you are awake and improve the quality of your sleep.
What is sleep style?
Your sleeping style is your body’s natural tendency to sleep at a specific time called a chronotype. You can be an early riser by nature or stay up late. Chronotype can influence everything from your desire for eating and exercise habits to your core body temperature. Depending on your chronotype, you may feel more awake part of the day and more sleepy other times.
The chronotype is similar to the circadian rhythm – your built-in body clock that determines your sleep-wake rhythm – but there are differences. The circadian rhythm reacts to cues in the world around us, such as light and room temperature. Your body then releases the hormone melatonin, which helps you fall asleep.
Chronotype, on the other hand, is more solid. Researchers believe your age, gender, and other genetic factors determine this.
Four styles of sleep
To find out your chronotype, think about when you naturally wake up with no commitments like work or school. It is also when you feel most focused and alert. Four common sleeping styles are:
Morning lark. Also called early risers, you wake up bright and early. In addition, you are most productive in the morning, and activity decreases in the evening.
Night owl. They don’t usually fall asleep until after 1 a.m. Later in the day you will feel most vigilant, although you may have to get up early in the morning. About 15% of the people are night owls.
Humming-bird. Most of us fall somewhere between morning larks and night owls. Experts call this type of sleep a hummingbird, and they believe that 55% of all people belong to this group. You will thrive on a normal daily schedule but still have enough energy for evening chores.
Bimodal. Researchers are studying this fourth chronotype. Bimodal means that you can have both morning and evening tendencies and activity peaks at any time of the day.
Your sleep style usually depends on your gender and can change as you get older. Many teenagers, young adults, and biological men are night owls, while older adults and biological women are more likely to be morning types. Your genes can also play a role in your chronotype. Researchers believe the longer the allele is on a core gene of your circadian clock the longer you are a morning person.
The influence of sleep style
So what happens when your natural sleeping style collides with everyday life? You might be a night owl, but you still have to get up for work or school at 6 a.m. Then catch up on sleep on your days off to catch up on the sleep you missed. Experts call this difference between what you have to do and what your body craves “social jetlag”.
Many people change their sleep pattern on the weekend and then have difficulty falling asleep on Sunday evening as they try to get back to work the next morning. “It’s like switching time zones. It doesn’t work very well, ”said Steven Feinsilver, MD, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
With social jet lag, you likely feel tired all the time and it’s hard to focus when your body is just trying to sleep. It can also affect morning larks. Typically going to bed early will slow you down as nighttime activities increase. For example: a musician who has a gig that starts at 10 p.m.
Scientists have found that social jet lag can affect your mental and physical health. They’ve linked it to heart and blood vessel disease, obesity, and depression, but more research needs to be done.
Tips for your sleeping style
While you can’t change your chronotype, knowing that it can help you figure out when you are most productive, and best social and creative, can help you.
Stick to a sleep schedule. If you’re struggling to close enough eyes, you can tweak your built-in clock for a better night’s sleep. “The secret to being a good sleeper is to match your circadian rhythm to your sleep rhythm,” says Feinsilver.
One of the most important things you can do is stick to a regular sleep schedule. Wake up and go to bed at the same time each day, including weekends.
Reserve your bed for sleeping. Limit the time you spend in bed, a form of therapy called sleep restriction. Let’s say you typically lie in bed for 8 hours but only sleep 6 hours. Sleep restriction is when you only lie in bed the number of hours that you sleep. You will sleep better and gradually you will be able to spend more time in bed as long as it does not disturb your rest.
Wake up your body. When you wake up in the morning, open your blinds or turn on the lights, have a bite to eat, and do some exercise. They act as cues to turn on your internal clock.
While these tips can work regardless of your sleeping style, it’s much harder to change the circadian rhythm of those who are more active after sunset, such as night shift workers. Your internal clock can adapt to a schedule of working at night and sleeping during the day. But if you take a few days off, it will likely return to a normal way of sleeping.
“Humans have never got used to being nocturnal animals very well,” says Feinsilver. “You can’t fool Mother Nature.”
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