June 30, 2025, 5:07 pm | Read time: 7 minutes
Lark, owl, or dove? No, this isn’t about favorite animals, but sleep types. While larks are bright and alert in the morning, owls have no trouble turning night into day. Doves fall somewhere between these two extremes. What chronotype are you? Take the test and find out!
In our often stressful, time-driven daily lives, it’s not always easy to intuitively know what sleep type you are. Am I tired in the morning because I’m a night owl? Or is it because I went to bed late due to work or other commitments? Does feeling sleepy early in the evening really mean you’re a lark and it’s your natural bedtime? Or was the day just so packed that you’re overly exhausted? Your sleep type is actually independent of schedules, alarms, and evening activities that keep us up too late. It’s determined by our biological clock. As I learned during my training to become a sleep coach, there’s a simple test that helps determine your actual chronotype. I’d like to introduce it to you here.
Overview
Early Type, Late Type, Normal Type – The Different Types According to the Chronotype Test
In sleep research, different sleep types are distinguished. Their internal clocks, which determine the rhythm of wakefulness, tiredness, and sleep phases, are slightly offset from each other.
For early types (larks), the body is hormonally ready early in the day to wake up refreshed and start the day with energy. Accordingly, they experience the first phases of tiredness, followed by more energetic phases, early in the day. And—as you might expect—they are also ready to sleep earlier than the other two sleep types.
At the other end of the scale are the late types (owls). They might often be described as not being morning people. They don’t start the day energized and awake, but often begin it groggily. This is because their biological clock runs later compared to larks. Their natural waking process occurs later in the day. However, everyday obligations often force them to get up earlier than their bodies are ready. Typically, they wake up refreshed later, experience the aforementioned tiredness and energy phases later, and prefer to go to bed late.
Between these extremes are the so-called normal types (doves), who find themselves in the middle of the scale with their natural wake-up and preferred sleep times. The term “scale” is used here for a reason; even within a sleep type, one can find oneself at different points on this scale. This means not all early types are fit at seven in the morning, and not all late types go to bed after midnight. There are many variations of the three sleep types. A test can show you whether you predominantly fall into one sleep category or another.
Which chronotype or sleep type you are is genetically determined. External circumstances and age also play a role. Many people experience a phase in their youth where their sleep behavior aligns more with the late type, while many tend to wake up earlier as they age. But essentially, we remain true to our chronotype throughout our lives.
The Chronotype Test
In sleep research, there are various methods to determine a person’s chronotype. In Germany, two questionnaires are commonly used:
- Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (German version, D-MEQ)1
- Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ)2
Both tests include a series of questions from various areas (the D-MEQ has about 19), which are then evaluated. Ideally, specialists should conduct these evaluations to ensure a truly reliable result.
To get an initial orientation and idea of your chronotype, the following short version of the MEQ can help.3 It contains only five questions, each linked to different point values. Based on the total score, you can determine which sleep type you are most likely to be.
The MEQ Short Version for the Chronotype Test at a Glance
1. Question: What time would you get up if you could plan your day completely freely?
- 5:00 to 6:30 a.m. (5 points)
- 6:30 to 7:45 a.m. (4 points)
- 7:45 to 9:45 a.m. (3 points)
- 9:45 to 11:45 a.m. (2 points)
- 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (1 point)
2. Question: How do you feel in the first half-hour after waking up in the morning?
- very tired (1 point)
- quite tired (2 points)
- quite refreshed (3 points)
- very refreshed (4 points)
3. Question: Around what time in the evening do you feel tired and have the urge to sleep?
- 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. (5 points)
- 9:00 to 10:15 p.m. (4 points)
- 10:15 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. (3 points)
- 12:45 to 2:00 a.m. (2 points)
- 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. (1 point)
4. Question: At what time do you feel your best?
- 5 to 8 a.m. (5 points)
- 8 to 10 a.m. (4 points)
- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (3 points)
- 5 to 10 p.m. (2 points)
- 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (1 point)
5. Question: People know morning types (larks) and evening types (owls). Which of the following types do you think you are?
- Definitely a morning type (6 points)
- More of a morning than an evening type (4 points)
- More of an evening than a morning type (2 points)
- Definitely an evening type (0 points)
Evaluation
- 18 to 25 points: You are more of a morning type (lark)
- 12 to 17 points: You are most likely a normal/neutral type (dove)
- 4 to 11 points: You are an evening type (owl)
You Are a Lark – What Does That Mean?
As a lark, you are a morning type, which you might notice firsthand. Larks are morning-active people who find it easy to get up early and reach their daily performance peak in the morning. Larks often have an early appetite for their first meal of the day. In the evening, they feel the need to sleep earlier compared to other chronotypes.
In our clock-driven society, which starts for most people in the (early) morning, morning types have a clear advantage. They are biologically “disadvantaged” when they have to work late shifts. Staying up late is difficult for them. Therefore, even for those not working shifts, evening activities—including social ones—tend to be limited.
Is the Clock the Enemy of Our Sleep?
What Shift Workers Should Consider for Training and Nutrition
What Does It Mean to Be an Owl?
Opposite the lark, the owl is at the other end of the sleep type scale. Evening types are, as the name suggests, evening and night-active people—night owls. They find it hard to get up in the morning, but this doesn’t mean they are long sleepers (in terms of more hours of sleep) or lazy. They don’t sleep longer, just at different times, meaning they tend to go to bed later and wake up later.
The disadvantages are obvious. Owls often have to drag themselves out of bed in the morning to be on time for work or school. They struggle to get going physically and mentally in the morning. This latent feeling of exhaustion can affect their appetite, which is why evening types are often not good breakfast eaters.
Owls have advantages when working late shifts. They also usually have no problem being social and maintaining social contacts in the evening after work.
What Doves Should Know
Between larks and owls are the doves, the normal or neutral types among sleepers. They may not be as early risers as the morning type, but they don’t struggle nearly as much with early rising as evening types do. Instead of feeling ready for the day at eight, they might feel ready around 10 a.m. They don’t turn night into day but can easily stay up until 11 p.m.