Forget night owl or morning lark, there are six types of sleeper… so which one are YOU?
MOST of consider ourselves either a morning or an evening person, but it turns out there are four other kinds of sleep personalities.
It’s recommended that adults get between seven to nine hours sleep a night, but most of us rarely make this target.
A recent study from revealed 56 per cent of Brits sleep for an average of four hours a night – well below the target.
And if you share a bed with your partner, you'll know the arguments over bed etiquette including duvet-hogging, temperature, snoring and wriggling around too much.
Regardless of how much sleep we get, some people always feel tired in the morning.
They’re often referred to as a night owl, being the most alert and awake at night, with waking up in the morning a struggle.
The opposite – often referred to as morning larks – are up at the crack of dawn, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, while they tend to flag towards the evening.
But it turns out there are other sleep profiles in-between these two extremes.
Research published in the journal found four more types of sleepers.
Conducted by sleep specialist Arcady Putilov, he gathered data from 1,305 people about when they felt the most awake.
He identified ‘nappers’, ‘afternooners’, woodcocks’ and ‘swifts’.
The paper says: “There are people who are neither morning nor intermediate nor evening types.
“Napper types are sleepier in the afternoon than in the morning and in the evening.
“The opposing afternoon types are sleepy both in the morning and in the evening.”
Six different types of sleeper
- Swift
- Woodcock
- Napper
- Afternooner
- Night owls
- Morning larks
If you’re groggy in the morning and the evening, but feel alert during the afternoon, that means you’re the aptly named ‘afternooner’.
If you’re the opposite, finding yourself awake in the morning and evening but experience an afternoon lull, you’re a ‘napper’.
And you could even benefit from a cheeky afternoon nap.
The bird names are also the polar opposite of each other.
If you feel awake and alert all day, you’re a ‘swift’, but if you feel tired and lethargic all day instead, you’re a ‘woodcock’.
These last two are characterised by feeling awake and tired at opposing times, rather than going through cycles of feeling sleepy at various times throughout the day and night.
The study by Hillarys found issues such as stress, temperature, light and noise were some of the main reasons stopping people from getting a good night’s sleep.
Some 2,400 UK adults were quizzed over their sleeping habits by the home interior specialists, with nearly three-quarters admitting they didn’t get enough shut-eye.
Tara Hall, spokesperson for Hillarys said: “Sleep is important to helping people function in their day-to-day lives and it’s a real shame to see that so many Britons are simply not getting enough sleep.
"Because of this, it’s unlikely they’ll be working to the best of their abilities throughout the day, either at work or in general."
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