Find Your (Sleep) Chronotype

A lot of workdays are built around one idea of what “productive” looks like. Early, sharp, switched on. But that does not work for everyone. Your sleep chronotype influences when your energy rises, when your concentration is strongest, and when your brain would honestly rather be left alone. Understanding that can make work feel a lot less personal.

So how do you figure out yours?

You do not need a sleep clinic for that. Validated questionnaires exist, but these simple questions will already tell you a lot about your natural rhythm.

The Five-Minute At-Home Quiz

Go through these and note your answers (A–D).

1. Ideal Wake-Up Time 

• A: Before 6:30 AM

• B: Around 7–8 AM

• C: 9–10 AM or later

• D: It varies ( sleep is light or broken)

2. When Do You Feel Most Locked In for Deep Work?

• A: 6–10 AM

• B: 10 AM–2 PM

• C: 4–9 PM

• D: A focused 2–4 hour window, somewhere late morning or mid-afternoon

3. Your Energy in Early Meetings (Before 9:30 AM)

• A: Energised, probably leading the conversation

• B: Functional, not quite at your sharpest

• C: Physically there. Mentally still loading.

• D: Foggy (especially after a fragmented night)

4. What Happens After 10 PM on a Typical Day?

• A: Already winding down or asleep

• B: Scrolling a bit, then bed

• C: Brain turns on (that is when your ideas come, writing feels easy, time disappears)

• D: Awake and restless, even when you're tired

5. If You Could Design Your Ideal Work Day, the Hardest Task Goes…

• A: Before 10 AM

• B: Late morning to early afternoon

• C: Late afternoon to late evening

• D: In a protected quiet block somewhere between 10 AM–4 PM

What your answers suggest:

• Mostly A → You lean Lion. Morning is your window.

• Mostly B → You lean Bear. The late morning sweet spot is real for you.

• Mostly C → You lean Wolf. Your peak comes later than the calendar usually allows.

• Mostly D → You lean Dolphin. Your focus is real but narrow.

Mixed answers?
You might sit between types, or you're in a transition maybe because of a new job, a new schedule, a new season of life and trust me that's temporarily shifting things. 

Treat this as a hypothesis, not a diagnosis. Check it against what you actually notice over the next week or two.

Want to know what this means exactly?
Check out our blog on Sleep Chronotypes.