How to Find Your Sleep Chronotype to Live a More Balanced Life

Many of us have heard, "You are what you eat," but have you thought about "You are how you sleep?" The key to productivity lies in embracing your natural body clock. Whether you're a lion, bear, wolf, or dolphin, your sleep chronotype influences your peak performance times. Harnessing this information could just be the secret to living your best life.

Related Blog: Why Do We Get Tired Around 2 p.m. Everyday?

Early risers, like the Bear and the Lion, tend to flourish at work but struggle to maintain their social lives. Whereas night owls, like the Wolf and the Dolphin, tend to have more success in their social and creative lives but struggle to maintain their health and careers.

We've created these work-life balance schedule templates tailored to each sleep chronotype to help you align your day with your internal clock.

The Wolf

If you're exhausted from trying to balance late nights, your social life, and the demands of a draining work schedule, you might have a wolf chronotype.

Those with the wolf chronotype exhibit a talent for deep focus and bursts of creativity when the world quiets down. As wolves, the challenge is to craft a life that doesn't just fit within societal molds but thrives outside of them.

Flexibility is key to personalizing your daily routine to complement the wolf chronotype:

• 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM: Wake Up & Self-Care
• 10:00 AM: Breakfast 
• 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM: Work (Focus on tasks that require less concentration or effort.)
• 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM: Lunch &/or Power Nap
• 1:30 PM - 6:30 PM: Peak Energy Hours (Best time for productivity and scheduling meetings.)
• 7:00 PM: Personal Time (Best time to engage in social activities or hobbies.)
• 8:30 PM: Dinner
• 9:30 PM - 11:00 PM: Self-care/Fitness (Also a good time to sneak in a snack.)
• 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM: Peak creative time (Best time for personal projects.)
• 1:30 AM: Bedtime Wind Down (Make an effort to relax after focusing on projects.)
• 2:00 AM: Sleep

The Lion

In the early morning, the lion chronotype wakes with energy and drive. They tend to be ambitious, determined, and focused, and they are known for their productivity and drive.

A lion's biggest hurdle is balancing their social life with their early bedtime. The evenings are when everyone else is ready to hang out, but lions are winding down. To make up for lost social time, try getting independent work done earlier in the day, and then get lunch with friends or schedule meetings in the early afternoon.

This structured daily schedule for the lion chronotype focuses on rectifying their unbalanced work and social life:

• 5:00 AM - 5:30 AM: Wake Up
• 5:30 AM - 6:00 AM: Fitness (Peak time for physical activities.)
• 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM: Personal Time & Self-Care
• 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM: Breakfast (Good time to have breakfast with a friend if possible.)
• 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Work (Peak time for productivity, creativity, and independent work.)
• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Lunch (Peak time to socialize.)
• 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Continue Work (Good time to schedule meetings with your non-lion co-workers.)
• 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Low-energy Tasks (Your energy starts to decline.)
• 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM: Wind-down (Good opportunity for leisurely socializing before you're too tired.)
• 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM: Dinner (Plan an early dinner with friends & family.)
• 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM: Leisure Activities (Good time for relaxing and hobbies.)
• 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Bedtime Wind Down
• 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Bedtime

The Bear

Like the Lion, the Bear chronotype likes to wake up in the early to mid-mornings and start winding down in the early to mid-evening hours. Bears don't like to wake up earlier than 7 a.m. and usually feel groggy until about 8:30 a.m. 

This means that Bears don't have the luxury of getting ahead on work to make up for lost social time. A good way to maintain a work and social life balance is to have a quick lunch with a friend or have an early dinner date after work. 

The Dolphin

The Dolphin chronotype usually falls asleep late and wakes up early. Researchers have found this chronotype to be more and more common in recent findings. Dolphins, tend to be intense, intelligent, and detail-oriented. They also tend to have insomnia.

This doesn't have to be a bad thing, so long as you make time for sleep and relaxation throughout the day. Dolphins usually struggle to balance their self-care with all their other priorities and fall behind because of the side effects of sleep deprivation. 

• 6:30 AM - 7:00 AM: Wake Up (Even if you don't feel fully rested.)
• 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM: Personal Time & Self-Care
• 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Breakfast
• 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Low-energy Tasks
• 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Work (This is the first of the Dolphin's productivity peaks. Focus on tasks that require the most mental effort.)
• 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch (Good time for self-care)
• 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Low-energy Tasks or Power Nap
• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Second Productivity Peak (Ideal time for demanding tasks, creative work, or scheduling meetings.)
• 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Personal Time (Ideal time for personal projects or hobbies.)
• 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Dinner
• 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Leisure Activities (Peak time for socializing and hobbies.)
• 10:00 PM - 10:30 PM: Bedtime Wind Down & Self-Care
• 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM: Bedtime

This schedule gives you a rough idea of the ideal schedule for the Dolphin chronotype, but remember that dolphins struggle with maintaining a consistent schedule because of their insomnia. So, if you have this chronotype, we recommend reflecting on your daily habits and planning for flexibility.

When you plan your day-to-day so that it compliments your sleep style, you're investing in your health and well-being. Find out from our sleep experts, at Land of Sleep, how to shape your bedroom setup and self-care habits to optimize your sleep, unlock your mental clarity, and give you the energy you need to thrive.

Learn about our wide selection of top-quality beds and mattresses in our, "Guide to a Better Night's Sleep" now so you can wake up refreshed for your new chronotype-specific routine.