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Chronotype Quiz

Your chronotype is your biologically-set preference for being asleep or awake at certain times. It's largely genetic and stable across adulthood. Seven questions below estimate where you fall on the morning–evening spectrum.

0 / 7 answered

  1. Q1

    If you were entirely free to plan your day, what time would you get up?

  2. Q2

    If you were entirely free to plan your evening, what time would you go to bed?

  3. Q3

    In the first half-hour after waking up, how alert do you feel?

  4. Q4

    In the first half-hour after waking up, how is your appetite?

  5. Q5

    At what time in the evening do you feel tired and in need of sleep?

  6. Q6

    If you had to take a 2-hour exam, when would you perform best?

  7. Q7

    Which type do you consider yourself to be?

How it works

The original Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ)was developed by Horne & Östberg in 1976 and remains the standard chronotype assessment in research. The full version has 19 items; this is the reduced version (Adan & Almirall, 1991) condensed to seven high-discrimination questions.

Your answers map to a rescaled MEQ score (16–86):

  • 70+ — Definite morning type
  • 59–69 — Moderate morning type
  • 42–58 — Intermediate (about 60% of adults)
  • 31–41 — Moderate evening type
  • 16–30 — Definite evening type

Why it matters

Trying to sleep against your chronotype produces what researchers call social jetlag: the cumulative mismatch between your biological clock and your social schedule. It's associated with worse metabolic health, mood, and cognitive performance in observational data.

You can shift your chronotype slightly with disciplined light exposure and timing — but only by 1–2 hours, not several. If you're a definite evening type forced onto an early schedule, the most realistic strategies are protecting sleep on both ends and using bright morning light to nudge your clock earlier. See light exposure and melatonin explained.

Sources

  1. 1Horne, J. A. & Östberg, O.. A self-assessment questionnaire to determine morningness-eveningness in human circadian rhythms · International Journal of Chronobiology · 1976PMID 1027738
  2. 2Adan, A. & Almirall, H.. Horne & Östberg morningness-eveningness questionnaire: A reduced scale · Personality and Individual Differences · 1991