Optimise Your Performance Using Chronotypes

This email is brought to you by

Neuro Athletes,

What if I told you that you can have better split times and shorter recovery times without putting in anymore effort? What if I told you that the timing of your training sessions should align with your genetic make up?

We now know that sleep after training is an important factor for better recovery and performance in athletes. Training aside, sleeping was shown to improve athletic performances like speed, reaction times, accuracy, and sprint times. 

Most sleep experts judge a healthy night’s sleep as one between seven and nine hours. However, while getting the right amount of sleep is important, there’s another factor to consider: your biological clock. 

If you have ever felt bad about being a night owl — you shouldn’t be — because just like your ethnicity, being either a lark or an owl is not a choice; it’s in your genes. And it can affect your quality of sleep and athletic performance at a certain time of the day. 

Primer

The body clock type (“chronotype”) refers to the preference of an individual towards ‘morningness’ (larks) or ‘eveningness’ (owls). However, some people are neither larks nor owls and are called the neutral-type (neutral).

One study compared the influence of chronotype on sleep quality. Results showed that:

• On weekdays with morning commitments, the owls slept approximately 1 hour less than the larks and the neutrals, and had lower sleep quality. 

• However, on free days, owls could compensate for their sleeping debts and had similar sleep quality and quantity as the other types.

In terms of performances, one study determined the optimum time to perform between the athletes who are either larks, owls, or neutrals. The researchers tested individuals six times throughout the day, from 7 am to 10 pm, by making them run to exhaustion (BLEEP test). Results showed that:

• Larks performed best at ~12 pm, neutrals at ~3 pm, and owls at ~8 pm.

• In general, the peak performance was ~5-6 hours after wake-up time for larks and neutrals, and ~11 hours after wake-up time for owls. 

Athletic Performance and Chronotypes

Preliminary findings examining chronotype and batting performance in professional baseball players have indicated that morning types had a higher batting average than players who were evening types in early games (i.e. before 14:00 h). This study aimed to (i) compare the chronotype distribution of elite athletes to adults from the general population and (ii) determine if there was a tendency for athletes to select and/or participate in sports which suited their chronotype.

The results from the study showed: (i) athletes involved in morning sports tended to be either morning or intermediate types and (ii) there were very few athletes classified as evening types with only one evening type athlete involved in a morning sport.

This supports the notion that athletes tend to pursue and excel in sports that match their chronotype.

Need more convincing to train according to your DNA?

Interestingly, it is becoming even more apparent that training in accordance to your chronotype is not just for the athlete but for the business profession as well. The New York Times reports a growing number of companies around the world are trying to use chronotypes for their employees to maximise on productivity and results.

“Knowing your chronotype may help you understand how your internal clock works and how you can synchronize it with your daily activities and duties to use your time most efficiently,” explains Eva Cohen.

Overview: Circadian Rhythm, Sleep and Athletic Performance

Our body has its own biological clock called the circadian rhythm. It is controlled by a part of our brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and regulates the secretion of different hormones and other biochemicals that affects our behavioral and physiological rhythms according to a certain time of the day. 

One example is the secretion of melatonin, a sleep hormone that helps us fall asleep, during the nighttime. 

Generally, an optimal sleep consists of 2 phases:

• Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep which is involved in body recovery.

• Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep which is involved in memory formation, neuroplasticity and excitability, and in the processing of emotional information.

These two phases form a complete sleep cycle that is repeated throughout the sleeping period. However, the first part of the night consists of more NREM sleep and very little REM sleep, while the second part of the night has less NREM sleep and more REM sleep. 

But due to the difference in chronotype, which is determined by our genes, the secretion of melatonin in the owls was shown to be 2-3 hours later than the larks. 

Hence, depending on whether you sleep later than your melatonin onset time or wake up before your body has had enough rest, you might lose your NREM or REM sleep. 

This shift in the onset of melatonin may also cause a subsequent shift in the secretion of other hormones (e.g. cortisol), thus affecting biological and behavioral functions that could influence athletic performance such as core body temperature, mood, memory and alertness, and cognitive functioning. 

The human circadian rhythm is controlled by these circadian genes: period genes (PER1, PER2 and PER3) which determine your sleep drive; cryptochrome (CRY1 and CRY2); casein kinase (CK1 ε and CK1δ); circadian locomotor output cycles kaput protein (CLOCK); brain and muscle ARNT-like protein (BMAL1 and BMAL2); and neuronal PAS domain protein (NPAS1 and NPAS2). 

This study shows that there are genes associated with being a morning person. Researchers correlated genome data from 696,828 people from the UK Biobank and 23andMe, a genetic testing company, to find genes correlated with being morning people.

They found 351 genes that had significant correlations. The people carrying the most "morning people genes" slept about 12 minutes earlier than average. People carrying the most "evening people genes" slept about 12 minutes later than normal.

Researchers found some surprising correlations between morning people genes and disease.

Genes associated with general well-being were positively correlated with the genetics of morning people. This means that some of the same genes that help determine your sleep time also help determine how happy you feel.

Similarly, "morning people genes" are also negatively correlated with depression genes. If you have a lot of morning people genes, you are slightly less likely to have depression genes.

Let’s sum it up

• Whether you’re a lark, an owl, or neutral is determined by your genes. 

• Chronotype is an individual difference that reflects the time that an individual is “does his or her best” however depending on your chronotype, you might have a better quality of sleep and athletic performance at a certain time of day.

• Sleeping at times that are misaligned with your chronotype results in reduced sleep quality and athletic performance due to the secretion of biochemicals that affects physiological and behavioral functions.

Takeaway: What it means for me

Sleep quality differs according to chronotypes and that there will be differences in athletes’ performance. At an elite sporting level, a winning margin can be as little as 1%. Hence, knowing your chronotype and creating a sleep and training schedule based on your chronotype can give you a circadian advantage that helps improve your athletic performance. 

To become a better performing athlete and/ or business person, you might want to explore this topic further by:

1. Identifying your chronotype:

The first step in getting better quality sleep is to figure out what your chronotype is. You can do this by identifying your natural rise time and when you feel the most alert. You can also try taking this chronotype quiz, designed by the sleep doctor, Dr. Breus.

1. Use temperature to maximise on your sleep hygiene:

There are a number of different technologies out right now to help with temperature control during sleep. Sleep scientist Mathew Walker says:

1. View morning sunlight:

Getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning will help set the internal clock mentioned above but viewing sunlight for at least 40 minutes per day will help dictate a healthy circadian rhythm so you can be more frequent with your sleep and wake times.

Well folks that’s it from me 😊 If you like this and want in-depth research on the neuroscience of high-performance please consider joining my premium membership.

Our premium membership includes:

• Well-researched and in-depth manuscripts that focus on the latest studies in neuroscience we found most interesting, with notes, comments and related links.

• Access to the private Q&A Louisa does with her guests that are not published on the public podcast feed.

Improve Your Fitness Through Sleep

Eight Sleep is the premier sleep fitness company that powers human performance through optimal sleep.

They use an advanced temperature-controlled system that adjusts throughout the night. It analyzes your personalized sleep stages, biometrics, and bedroom temperature, reacting intelligently to create the optimal sleeping environment.

The result?

Since getting my Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover a few months ago, not only do I fall asleep faster, I actually get high-quality sleep, so I wake up feeling well-rested and energized.

Simply put, it’s been a game-changer.

If you want to join me and thousands of pro athletes, CEOs, and other high performers that are dedicated to improving their sleep fitness, you should get an Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover too.

Trust me; you won’t regret it :)