The Day I Discovered That I’m a Wolphin
Josh and I talk a lot about sleep, namely, that we should get more of it. We’re not great at actually getting to bed when we say we’re going to get to bed, and then it takes me a long time to fall asleep. So I’m getting about five or six hours per night. That’s on a good night.
I’ve been looking up sleep information, and I found out about the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The good news is that I only scored a two, which is low. But the bad news is that I am not sleepy during the day. I’m not sleepy from my lack of sleep, so I can’t take a nap, let’s say, and grab sleep during daytime hours. I’m not sleepy at night, AND I’m not sleepy during the day.
Which doesn’t mean that I’m not tired. I am tired. But I’m not sleepy. I’m like a little yappy dog on high alert for any squirrels that may run by the window. That dog may be exhausted, but it cannot let itself drift off into sleep because… SQUIRREL.
Anyway, I was researching my chronotype (none of which — by the way — take into account that your life may not fit your chronotype and you may not be able to do anything about it), and I think I’m somewhere between a wolf and a dolphin. I’m a wolphin.
That will make more sense if you read this chart.
I don’t know this scientifically because the chronotype quiz seems to be down at the moment, but it’s what makes sense based on the descriptions. I’m a wolphin living in a world where I need to do tasks on other people’s timetables. I cannot roll out of bed at 7 am or hold meetings at 4 pm. I can’t do yoga or exercise at 6 pm because I’m freakin’ making dinner at that time.
Anyway.
What is your chronotype, and are you also a hybrid that sounds like the stuff of nightmares?
6 comments
… I don’t understand. If you’re not sleepy, why do you need more sleep?
I’m more of a wolf bear. I too am not getting to bed early enough and I don’t have the luxury of living a night owl life.
I get it—your body needs more sleep but you’re not sleepy. What I hate is when I read a few pages of a book, get nice and sleepy, turn off the light, then BOING! My brain is like “hey let’s think about everything bad or unresolved in your life over the past 25 years”
Teddy is the same why: he tends not to be sleepy and requires silencing his body to actually fall asleep, but I think the kid is tired as he’s often irritable in the evenings (the days he naps are better all around).
Both Teddy and I are lions, though I think he also has some dolphin in him. Maddy and Grey are wolves. Welcome to my household dynamic.
I’m like you. But so as not to copy you, let’s call me a Dolf.
What!? They didn’t have a (perpetually tired) pigeon!!
I think I’m mostly wolf with a bit of lion. Yup, that is me through and through.
The closest fit for me is a bear. . . except I spend my day working a lot more, and exercising a lot less, than the sample schedule that the chart provides — ha!
I very rarely have insomnia, and first year with infant twins and shift work in my prior career aside, I am pretty good about getting my 8 hours of sleep. In fact, I find that when I am under unusual stress (my baseline stress level is probably higher than average, given my professional and personal lives), I sometimes need more like 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night.
When I was younger, I used to push myself to make do on less, but now that I’m solidly into middle age, more often than not, I just give in and get my body the sleep I know it needs more. If I don’t, I usually end up sick and irritable.