HYG episode 17: The truth about chronotype

Hey folks, fresh off the presses today is our next podcast episode: The truth about chronotype. This is one of those topics that many don’t fully understand and end up misapplying. As a result, they fail to get the benefits one gets by applying the science.

Chronotype

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6370261/

The Truth About Chronotype

What is chronotype? Chrontoype is essentially how your body operates within the day night cycle. For example, early birds wake up early, go to bed early, and perform better on physical and mental tasks early in the day.

On the other hand, people known as night owls sleep in, go to bed later, and generally perform better on physical and mental tests later in the day. There are essentially 5 different chronotypes that can be manipulated by addressing the environment and behavior.

In today’s podcast, we discuss:

  • What are the 5 chronotypes?
  • Important definitions to understand
  • Variables that affect chronotype
  • Changing chronotypes and how far can you go
  • The difficulty in identifying chronotype distribution
  • The morningness-eveningness questionnaire(MEQ)
  • Developing a plan to switch chronotypes

There are genetic influences on chronotype. But just because you stay up past midnight doesn’t mean that’s your genetic program. That is to say, if you want to change it a bit you can.

Certainly you can go the other way as well. If you have control over your schedule and find yourself a night owl, it may be in your best interest to shift your schedule to suit your strengths.

There are many ways to address this. Consequently, defining what you want to do and developing a plan is the best path forward.

Above all, you have to identify your baseline chronotype with the MEQ and go from there. We like using this MEQ because it’s online and calculates your score. Additionally, they give some pretty good advice. Without further ado, enjoy the show!

https://anchor.fm/dave-mayo/episodes/The-Truth-about-Chronotype-ej16ko/a-a57pj3

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