Dr. Michael Breus’ new book, “The Power of When,” is helping readers discover their potential through a few questions and a little bit of science.
Everyone has a chronotype, or a biological clock that we operate under. Knowing your chronotype means discovering the best times to do just about anything and everything.
Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you like to eat right when you wake up, or after a few hours of being awake? Your body’s unique preferences and patterns are all determined by your chronotype.
The chronotype is the classification and scientific study referring to your personal biological patterns based on your own individual circadian rhythms.
We all have different chronotypes that determine when our energy peaks and decreases throughout the day. The book helps the reader understand their unique energy and hormone production, as well as the best time of the day to do things.
To find out your chronotype, Dr. Breus developed a simple quiz that can be completed on his website.
Once you know your chronotype you can begin to better understand why your body peaks at certain times of the day, and how to work your chronotype to your advantage.
I recently took the quiz and found out I was a Dolphin. Personality traits include being cautious, introverted, neurotic and intelligent.
My key behaviors are I avoid risky situations, strive for perfection and fixate on details. I would say that all of those behaviors are true, although I am a risk-taker only when I know the outcome will be in my favor.
My dolphin sleep/alertness pattern was spot on. It said I wake up feeling un-refreshed and remain tired until late in the evening when I hit a second wind. Dolphins are also the most alert late at night and have productive spurts throughout the day.
The book informed me that like real dolphins who sleep with only half of their brain so that the other half can watch out for predators, those who are a dolphin chronotype are also light sleepers with a low sleep drive. I do lie awake at night ruminating about the day and what things I could have done better.
The book helped me learn that I can embrace certain parts of the day when my circadian rhythms are low, and divert activities that require intense concentration during one of my peak times. At last I can quit beating myself up due to low productivity time.
I really enjoyed this book and recommend it. The science behind how our 
bodies work and how to understand ourselves better is very interesting.
And I loved learning how to work with my natural chronotype to optimize my performance in the various arenas of life.
If you aren’t operating at peak performance levels it could be that you need to start maximizing your personal chronotype.
To find out more about Dr. Breus and to take his chronotype quiz check out his website at www.thepowerofwhen.com.
