Identify your chronotype and reduce social jetlag

What to Do

Determine your natural chronotype (morning lark, night owl, or intermediate) using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), available free online. Then align your schedule as closely as possible to your biology.

Why It Works

Chronotype is approximately 50% heritable. When your natural sleep-wake timing conflicts with your social schedule, the result is "social jetlag" — chronic misalignment that causes sleep deprivation. A 2025 study found evening types had 2.3x higher odds of poor work ability, but these risks stem from the mismatch, not the chronotype itself.

Tips

• You can shift your schedule by 1-2 hours with consistent effort (timed light, melatonin), but you cannot convert a true night owl into a morning lark
• Reducing the gap between weekday and weekend wake times is one of the most impactful changes
• Adolescents naturally trend toward eveningness; forcing early school start times fights their biology
• If your job allows flexible hours, aligning work to your chronotype improves both performance and sleep