The Chronotype Test – What makes your inner clock tick?

With the Chronotype Test from Bodyclock, it is now possible for the first time to reliably determine your Chronotype.

Better sleep through chronotype test?

You finally want to sleep better again? The most important step to achieve this goal is to know your chronotype. Get to know your inner clock now and learn how you can improve your sleep and strengthen your health based on your chronotype. With the BodyClock RNA – Chronotype Test you get:

• Your genetic sleep type / chronotype (early type, normal type or late type) based on many years of research by the team around Prof. Dr. Achim Kramer
• A 25-page results report with your optimal times for sleeping, eating, working, exercising, and more.
• Personal, scientifically based and understandable recommendations for better sleep

Do we all tick the same?

No! The basic chronotype you have is in your genes.

Depending on the chronotype, the internal clock synchronizes differently early or late with the light-dark change, resulting in different so-called chronotypes. Most people know larks (early types), and owls (late types), while the doves (normal types/median types) are rather less known. Chronotype indicates where your natural internal clock is relative to external artificial timekeeping.

Since industrialization, we have been working and moving predominantly indoors. The resulting lower exposure to sunlight has led to a broader distribution of chronotypes than vo of industrialization. While at that time the owls and larks were only 2-5 hours apart, today in urban regions it is up to 12 hours.

Chronotype test via hair root analysis

Until now, there were only two ways to determine your chronotype – questionnaire or self-assessment. Now the RNA – Chronotype Test from BodyClock is added.

According to the research team, this works even if the test subject is awakened early in the morning by an external stimulus (alarm clock, person, etc.), contrary to his biological rhythm.

Since April 2021, an RNA – chronotype test based on hair root samples is offered, which is based on the same analytical technique, but the samples are much easier to collect by yourself. Thus, the threshold is lowered and private individuals can now also easily have their chronotype determined.

This is a revolutionary step, as it is now possible to perform chronotherapy much more efficiently than by self-assessment or questionnaire. All forms of therapy can benefit from optimal therapy time based on chronotype.

What effect can this RNA – Chronotype test have outside of medicine?

Can this determination of the chronotype via an RNA test also have positive effects on the economy, tourism and education? The answer is definitely “YES”. Of course, the test result is a medical diagnosis, so it falls under data protection. Moreover, it costs money. But there is much more to it than just determining a chronotype. This RNA test shows that chronobiology has arrived in conventional medicine. A chronotype is no longer just an imaginary entity or a matter of faith, because some people feel it, others don’t.

Now, it is not at all necessary that companies, educational institutions, etc. subject all employees and students to an RNA chronotype test in order to benefit from the knowledge of the internal clock. It is first of all about awareness. Decision-makers need to recognize the impact of including individual chronotypes in BGM and HRM as a way to actively influence absenteeism, error costs, and turnover. In this context, the integration of chronobiology into BGM will only be a matter of time. In 2018, for example, the AOK Bavaria has already informed decision-makers from its member companies throughout Bavaria in detail about the topic as part of its information series “BGM im Dialog” and invited Michael Wieden as an expert for the lectures.

Company – How to go about it?

The main problem is that there are still few experts on the market who are able to understand the relationship between chronotype and economic processes. Thus, there is a lack of possibilities to advise companies in this area in a target-oriented way. On the one hand, there are chronobiologists, who of course have their expertise in the field of chronobiology, and on the other hand, there are management consultants, economic experts, HR experts, etc.. The latter, however, have to a large extent not even heard of chronobiology.

However, Michael Wieden predicts that in 5-10 years chronobiology will be part of the standard repertoire of large, innovative management consulting agencies and health insurance companies.

We will see whether an RNA chronotype test or the chronotype will then be part of the classic application documents. But as I said, that’s not the point for now.

Detailed information and a review of the Chronotype Test – Result by Michael Wieden can be found here.