Season 2 – Episode 3: Early birds and night owls – what is chronotype?

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Can you choose to be an early type? In this episode, Dr. Anna M. Biller from the Technical University of Munich explains what chronotype is, how it changes throughout the lifespan, what happens when your biological clock and your social clock are out of sync, and how can you measure your type. Listen to uncover the answers to these and many other fascinating questions about chronotype.

Links and resources related to the episode’s content

• Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) [https://qxmd.com/calculate/calculator_829/morningness-eveningness-questionnaire-meq]

• The Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ) [https://www.thewep.org/documentations/mctq]

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro
(01:17) Introducing Dr. Biller
(02:29) What is chronotype?
(07:26) Biological measures of chronotype
(09:34) Factors that affect chronotype
(10:36) Can your chronotype change?
(12:57) The biological vs the social clock
(16:01) Can night owls become early birds?
(18:18) School start times
(20:52) Sex differences
(22:38) How to know your chronotype?
(29:13) Summary
(30:56) Outro

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