Using Your Chronotype to Optimize Sleep—and Sex

Understanding your innate sleep-wake cycle—also known as your chronotype—can help you adjust your sleep patterns to what’s optimal for your body. Why some of us are naturally early risers or night owls remains largely a mystery, although it’s likely due to variations in our clock genes, the parts of our DNA that regulate the timing of our hormones.

Some scientists report that there are three chronotypes, while others say there are seven. Sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, believes there are four, which he’s named lion, bear, wolf, and dolphin (more on those below).

You can take a short quiz to find out what your chronotype is. After you’ve figured it out, Breus recommends that you begin to train your body to sleep and wake with its natural circadian rhythm. That means every day for 28 days straight, 7 days a week, you wake up and go to bed at the time that’s best for your chronotype.

Breus also says that knowing your chronotype can give you insight into the best time for you to have sex—with a partner or solo—based on when you’re likely to be the least groggy (and more aroused).

Sleep Chronotype 1: Lion

Early risers fall under the lion chronotype. Lions naturally get up around 4 to 5:30 a.m., without an alarm. (If you need an alarm to get up at this time, you’re not a lion, Breus says.) And they have lots of energy. “Lions are my COOs of a company,” he says. They’re the type to send emails at 6:30 a.m. and are usually very organized and structured. “They might make a list every day and go from step one to step two to step three—very militant in their thinking,” Breus says.

Lions go to bed earlier, too—if they wake up at 5 o’clock in the morning, they’re not able to stay up as late. When it comes to sex, the optimal time is early morning.

Breus says he sees a lot of lion envy with his clients—they wish that they were a lion even when they’re not. So instead of finding a rhythm that’s true to themselves, they act like a lion—sending early-morning emails, for example. He recommends embracing your natural chronotype so that your unique mental health, physical well-being, and creativity are expressed optimally.

Sleep Chronotype 2: Bear

About half of the population is the bear chronotype, Breus says. (The other chronotypes range from 10 to 20 percent each.) Bears wake up around 7 or 7:30 a.m. and go to bed at 10:30 or 11 p.m. The typical 9-to-5 work schedule is great for these extroverted people, who are the type to host often and are likely the glue that connects their community.

The best time for bears to have sex is right when they wake up or within a couple of hours of going to bed.

Sleep Chronotype 3: Wolf

Wolves are the night owls—they get up later, around 10 a.m., and go to bed some time after 10:30 p.m. Wolves are often CEOs, artists, actors, and musicians. “A wolf doesn’t work well with a 9-to-5 schedule because they don’t even want to wake up at 9 o’clock,” Breus says. They’re usually more introverted. “Wolves can be friendly, but they have to get to know you first,” he says. “Usually it’s late at night when they’re willing to come out of their shell.”

For sex, the best time for them is right when they first wake up or a couple of hours before bed.

Sleep Chronotype 4: Dolphin

Dolphins have an erratic sleep-wake schedule, and it’s hard for them to fall asleep. Breus says that they are similar to lions because they wake up early (around 6:30 a.m.) and are structured, but their anxiety (and OCD for some) has a tendency to significantly impact their daily lives and their sleep, keeping them tossing and turning throughout the night. “They feel like they want to have a deeper sleep, but they can’t get there because, genetically speaking, their bodies just won’t let them,” he says.

It’s best for them to have sex in the early evening around 8 p.m.

This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of goop.