What’s Your Chronotype? (HINT: GAMECHANGER ALERT!)

OKAY- so a while back I interviewed holistic nutritionist Torie Borelli on the blog– remember her? She is a WEALTH of health knowledge & introduced me to so many great new things. Brain Octane oil, these bars that I am obsessed with, & also the life changing discovery of my chronotype….

When I first started working with Torie I was explaining to her my sleep schedule. I get semi-embarrassed to talk about my sleep patterns because most people just give me lectures on how I need to “shift my schedule”. Torie on the other hand, did nothing of the sort, instead she recommended I read the book ‘The Power of When’ by Michael Breus.

I did… & wow… it was a game changer. Ever since I was little, mornings were TOUGH for me. In first grade my mom would have to dress me while sleeping because I literally couldn’t wake up till last minute. In highschool I was prescribed Adderahl because I would fall asleep in my morning classes, that went on until college. Then I worked a desk job, & each morning started with two shots of 5 hour energy… but I would still doze at my desk ALL the time.

I’ve been to endless doctors about tired problems, & really… nada. One time I was diagnosed w/ Lymes disease because I went in about my morning exhaustion. That was a treacherous 6 month ordeal… but we will get into that another time (maybe…. probably not though… it’s a LONG story!).

It’s really hard when everyone around you wakes up to the slight chirping of birds at 6am w/ tons of energy (including my boyfriend who wakes up way too chipper)… & even harder when they fall asleep no problem at a reasonable time (also my boyfriend, who is in deep REM as soon as his head hits the pillow).

All this time I was convinced I was an insomniac, & then I read ‘The Power of When’ & realized that wasn’t even close to the case… nor was I alone. Basically, Dr. Breus had patients like me come in for a sleep study because they were “insomniacs” & all of his typical treatments were not working for a handful of these patients.

Which is when he realized- NOT everyone’s biological clock runs the same, & that’s when he developed the four different chronotypes & then… CATCH THIS… he tied them to matching animals based on your morning & evening mood and then planned out daily routines based on these chronotypes to help people live their best self.

Makes total sense- yes? For me, ding ding ding- game changer. We touched on this when I was on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast and SO many people reached out saying they were so happy to know about chronotypes… so I figured it deserved a post.

Ready to figure out your sleep spirit animal? LET’S DO THIS. 

1. Dolphins: in the big bad ocean, dolphins are very light sleepers. Dolphins are very intelligent & really… don’t have a huge need for sleep. Dolphin sleepers make up about 10% of the population.

Tips from the sleep doc: Dolphins should work out in the morning, always eat lunch, & don’t watch TV in bed cause dolphins will never sleep.

2. Lions: lions are up and at ’em bright & early. If you’re a annoyingly happy morning person, you’re probably a lion.

Tips from the sleep doc: make plans in the morning BRIGHT & EARLY (6am kinda early). Lions love lists, so make lists when you wake up. Also, do your workouts around 5pm…. because this is typically when lions crash so it will give you a boost. Also- no carbs for dinner, that will put a lion to sleep too early. Protein for lions.

3. Bears: bears are the most common sleepers out there. They are good sleepers, fun loving, & wake up when the sun comes up/goes to bed when the sun goes down. They LOVE sleep, but don’t have issues waking up.

Tips from the sleep doc: your most productive period is around 10am, so do work! Also, bears should try to go on a little walk before lunch to help speed up the metabolism & help you concentrate throughout the rest of your day. Also, bears need to be social, so go to happy hour after work!

4. Wolves: AKA ME. I am a wolf… but you probably could’ve guessed that because wolves are the night owls of the world. Wolves are night loving creatives types w/ a middle of the road need for sleep.

Tips from the sleep doc: try to get vitamin D in the AM- go on a quick walk to get your juices flowing & energy pumping. Your most energized after 6pm, so use that time to do work. Another tip- try to unplug before bed. Wolves are WIRED at night, but try to cut out that blue light emitting from you TV & computer (read the book to learn about how blue light messes up your sleep cycle!!).

OKAY- there you have it!!! Do you guys think this is as cool as I do? I am kinda obsessed w/ the whole concept & it has definitely improved my life BIG TIME. Comment below with your spirit sleep animal- would love to hear!!

xo, E

wearing: black leather trousers w/ ankle slits (sold out- similar) | black longline button up blouse | bomber jacket | fishnet tights | black patent flats | QUAY ‘Cafe Racer’ sunglasses

[ PHOTOS BY ARIELLE LEVY ]