About 10% of people are early risers. We celebrate these productive people from the start. It’s less wonderful for the 10% who are night owls: party animals, irresponsible people, eternal teenagers… However, some can’t do much about it: it’s their chronotype.
Chronotype determines what type of sleeper you are. From early risers to night owls and everything in between. If you know your chronotype well, you can adjust your routine accordingly. A study of high school students published five years ago in the journal Nature showed that those who were more respectful of their chronotype generally achieved better grades. Anyway!
Chronotype is determined by a person’s genetics and daily rhythm. An internal 24 hour clock. Circadian rhythms affect many things, from alertness and concentration to hair growth, which we agree requires very little alertness.
The circadian rhythm influences the transition between wakefulness and sleep. It appears that it may also act on certain physiological characteristics such as body temperature and blood flow.
Tell me how you sleep…
For manufacturers of connected accessories, this is all a panacea: a few discreet sensors attached to the skin record skin temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen levels – at any time, 24 hours a day.
Most of these manufacturers then provide your vital signs information via a mobile application. It’s up to you to do with it what you want. Some go even further. The company Oura, for example, uses this data to better inform people about their chronotype.
In fact, she hopes to break down a stereotype or two about people who don’t fit well into the typical schedule of a typical day in a typical North American office. Especially since other studies tend to show that the less we respect our internal clock, the more likely we are to develop certain diseases: high blood pressure, anxiety, etc.
Oura defines six chronotypes. The early riser is active from dawn and has completed most of his most demanding activities long before the afternoon. Morning people naturally wake up with the sunrise, work efficiently in the morning, and go to bed early. The moderate morning person gets up a little later and is productive throughout the day.
A few years ago, wearing an Oura ring was the be-all and end-all of the Silicon Valley geek community.
The middle night type is most productive in the afternoon and evening and usually stays awake late. Nightlife itself reaches its peak when everyone seems ready to go to bed. After all, the night owl sleeps all morning and only really comes into its own in the late afternoon.
Sleep very close
Oura has been marketing a connected ring for several years. The device of the same name is worn on one finger – preferably the index or ring finger of your less dominant hand. A few years ago, wearing an Oura ring was the name of the game in Silicon Valley’s geek community. A bit like Allbirds shoes, which have nothing techno about them other than their Californian origins.
The fashion is over, but the Oura ring remains. It is in the third generation. It’s not cheap: the cheapest model costs $400. You will then have to pay $8 per month to receive an interpretation of the important data collected in your mobile application. Including its chronotype.
You also need to be patient: Oura requires 90 days of continuous operation to determine what type of biological clock drives you.
Nevertheless, of the numerous connected devices that promise sleep analysis, the Oura Ring is perhaps one of the most useful. It slips off your finger and is easily forgotten. She goes into the water. Battery life is approximately four days and charging takes less than 90 minutes. It doesn’t vibrate, make noise, or receive notifications from your smartphone. Perfect for an accessory that wants to promote relaxation.
In addition, a connected watch or smart bracelet is a bundle of hyper-stimulating interference.
The main disadvantage of the Oura ring is that it cannot always be worn during sports, which was carefully considered during its development. It is a gem after all. And even titanium will scratch if you rub it stubbornly against other metal objects.
But to better understand when, how, and why you sleep well or poorly, consider these accessories. Especially if you think you’re the night owl type.
Because that’s part of Oura’s goal: to give legitimacy to people who have a hard time getting up early. It’s not necessarily due to laziness or a lack of seriousness that some people don’t fit into the traditional 9-to-5 mode.
It’s probably even beyond their control: their biological clock is designed that way.