Instead, there are four sleep chronotypes—bears, lions, wolves, and dolphins—that can give us a better sense of our unique sleep needs and what time we should be waking up, going to bed, etc. (You can find out your type with a quick quiz!) And the rarest chronotype, the dolphin, has some special factors to take into consideration. Here’s the lowdown on the rarest sleep chronotype, plus how to work with it. As Breus previously explained to mbg, not only are dolphins the rarest chronotype, but these are the folks who tend to struggle with sleep the most. The dolphin type is characterized by difficulty falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning, which can make it difficult for them to stick to a consistent sleep schedule. But the good news is, there are some helpful tips for optimizing sleep and energy if you happen to fall within this 10% of sleepers. These folks usually sleep for four full (90-minute) sleep cycles, can take up to 40 minutes to fall asleep, and have an optimal wake-up time of 6:30 a.m. When you do the math, that comes out to a bedtime of 11:50 p.m. (And that means you’re actually in bed, sans phone, with the lights off by 11:50.) The formula combines highly absorbable and gentle magnesium bisglycinate with PharmaGABA®, a neurotransmitter shown in clinical trials to enhance natural sleep quality, and jujube, a fruit used in traditional Chinese medicine for calming, for a supplement that can help dolphins fall asleep faster and wake up energized.* If that sounds familiar, Breus says dolphins can keep a “worry journal” by their bedside so they can get everything out of their head and onto paper. In fact, research has shown that taking just five minutes before bed to write down the next day’s to-do list can help people fall asleep1. With this in mind, you’ll want to keep your morning responsibilities on the lighter side and plan to do more important tasks during that specific window. When those moments strike, Breus says this type needs to honor that and take a break so they don’t get burnt out. Maybe you opt for a quick meditation, or a full-on power nap—whatever it is, take the rest when you need it.
