Wolves, Bears, Lions, oh my! Society always has a weird thing for sorting and putting people into categories. But since we are hopelessly addicted to personality quizzes, what’s the harm in taking just another one! The concept of whether you are a Wolf, Bear, Lion, or Dolphin is a new quiz that determines not only what personality you have, but specializes in what kind of sleeping habits you have and then matches you to the animal you most resemble in sleeping habits, while finally giving you a customized daily schedule of when to wake up, eat, accomplish tasks, exercise, and go to bed that is best suited to your internal clock. In his book, the Power of When: The Best Time to Eat Lunch, Ask for a Raise, Have Sex, Write a Novel, Take Your Meds, and More (can this book tell me when is the best time to start an essay that’s due the next morning because I haven’t figured that out yet), Dr. Michael Breus claims that he’s figured out how to bring out each individual’s full potential. Every person, according to him, has a chronotype, or their own unique individual internal clock. We all know the CEO types who are insufferable “morning” people, wake up at 5 am, and do everything on their to-do list before most people have hit the snooze button twice. Guess what, those people are Lions! Are you someone who is an insomniac and a light sleeper? Congratulations, you’re a Dolphin! I was curious to see whether this worked, and whether following the new sleep schedule would actually help in productivity and feeling more energetic. I have a horrible sleep schedule, with many nights ending in me sleeping at 3 am because I am so wired with energy, and morning being my mortal enemy that I have to fight with 20 different alarms. I definitely viewed this quiz as a chance for me to follow a new sleep schedule and set my internal clock right. I took the quiz and got the result of Wolf, which the quiz characterizes as people who are more energetic at night, are creative types, and have a hard time waking up in the morning. This was a pretty good summary of who I was as a person. Let’s do this!
Go to bed at 12 am
This is weird, I thought to myself. 12 am is a little early for me. Usually I end up drifting off at 1 am or 2 am, and I am always on my phone. I just need…to read…one more Buzzfeed quiz about what Italian vegetable I am…no, I can do this. Eventually I went to sleep around 12:30, and surprisingly for me I fell quickly into sleep, which usually is not the case for me.
Wake up at 7-7:30 am
This is definitely early for me to wake up, as I usually rise around 9 am or later. I thought at first this would be intensely difficult
Do some outdoor exercises at 8:30 am
This is definitely strange and unusual. I usually never exercise until late at night, but I have to admit forcing myself to go outside and walk around actually woke me up and left me feeling way more energized.
Have coffee at 11am-1pm
This was a no go. I had to have some coffee at 9 am. This is a nonnegotiable. Waiting until 11 am to have my coffee when I’m up at 7 am is just asking for someone to get murdered.
Hold meetings 4 to 6 pm
This seemed to work because I was definitely in the “swing” of things and feeling super charged up, in my groove, whatever you want to call it, around this time. I got a lot done and pushed out a lot of work. Check for getting busywork done in the afternoon!
Exercise from 6pm to 7pm
Usually around this time I am full of energy in the evenings, so it was a new change of pace but a perfect choice to start burning energy and exercising at this time.
Eat Dinner at 8 pm
By this time I’m exhausted and hungry. I’m never exhausted at this time!
Go to bed at 11 pm, no screens beforehand and meditate
Normally by this time at night I am wired, but I was very ready for bed and fell quickly asleep, with no desire to go on my phone.
Overall, I thought the quiz was immensely helpful in learning about myself and giving me guidelines to change to a schedule that maximized optimal performance during the day. Even though everybody is different and may not fall neatly into each category, I think everyone can benefit from at least taking the quiz and learning about their daily habits and analyzing whether or not they need to adjust and change or not. Read more and figure out which chronotype you are at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/mood-and-mind/are-you-a-dolphin-or-a-lion-the-best-time-to-wake-eat-sleep-exer/
Read more at:
http://www.hercampus.com/school/sonoma-state/living-toxic-roommate
http://www.hercampus.com/school/sonoma-state/nse-5-tips-applying
http://www.hercampus.com/school/sonoma-state/music-recommenda