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Quiz: Are You an Early Bird or a Night Owl?

Find out what time of day you are most alert.

Real Simple
Updated September 08, 2009

Are you a morning person, a night person, or somewhere in between? Answer each question, keeping a running tally of your scores. At the end of the quiz, add them up to reveal your type.

What time would you get up if you were entirely free to plan your own day?

A. 5 to 6:30 a.m. (5 points)
B. 6:30 to 7:45 a.m. (4 points)
C. 7:45 to 9:45 a.m. (3 points)
D. 9:45 to 11 a.m. (2 points)
E. 11 a.m. to noon (1 point)

What time would you go to bed if you were entirely free to plan your evening?

A. 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. (5 points)
B. 9 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. (4 points)
C. 10:15 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (3 points)
D. 12:30 a.m. to 1:45 a.m. (2 points)
E. 1:45 a.m. to 3 a.m. (1 point)

How dependent are you on being woken up by an alarm clock?

A. Not at all (4 points)
B. Slightly dependent (3 points)
C. Fairly dependent (2 points)
D. Very dependent (1 point)

How easy do you find getting up in the mornings?

A. Not at all (1 point)
B. Not very easy (2 points)
C. Fairly easy (3 points)
D. Very easy (4 points)


How alert do you feel during the first half-hour after having woken in the morning?

A. Not at all (1 point)
B. Not very alert (2 points)
C. Fairly alert (3 points)
D. Very alert (4 points)

How is your appetite during the first half-hour after having woken in the morning?

A. Very poor (1 point)
B. Fairly poor (2 points)
C. Fairly good (3 points)
D. Very good (4 points)

During the first half-hour after having woken in the morning, how tired do you feel?

A. Very tired (1 point)
B. Fairly tired (2 points)
C. Fairly refreshed (3 points)
D. Very refreshed (4 points)

When you have no commitments the next day, at what time do you go to bed compared to your usual bedtime?

A. Seldom or never later (4 points)
B. Less than one hour later (3 points)
C. 1 to 2 hours later (2 points)
D. More than two hours later (1 point)

How well would you perform one hour’s worth of physical exercise between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.?

A. Would be in good form (4 points)
B. Would be in reasonable form (3 points)
C. Would find it difficult (2 points)
D. Would find it very difficult (1 point)


When do you feel tired and in need of sleep?

A. 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. (5 points)
B. 9 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. (4 points)
C. 10:15 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (3 points)
D. 12:30 a.m. to 1:45 a.m. (2 points)
E. 1:45 a.m. to 3 a.m. (1 point)

Which one of the four testing times would you choose to take a two-hour test?

A. 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. (4 points)
B. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (3 points)
C. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (2 points)
D. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (1 point)

If you went to bed at 11 p.m., how tired would you be?

A. Not at all (0 points)
B. A little tired (2 points)
C. Fairly tired (3 points)
D. Very tired (5 points)

If you go to bed much later than usual, but don’t need to get up at any particular time the next morning, which one of the following events are you most likely to experience?

A. Will wake up at usual time and will not fall asleep (4 points)
B. Will wake up at usual time but will doze (3 points)
C. Will wake up at usual time but will fall asleep again (2 points)
D. Will not wake up at usual time (1 point)

If you had to stay awake between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. and you had no commitments the next day, which one of the following alternatives would you choose?

A. Would not go to bed until after 6 a.m. (1 point)
B. Would take a nap before 4 a.m. and then sleep after (2 points)
C. Would take a good sleep before 4 a.m. and then nap after (3 points)
D. Would take all sleep before 4 a.m. (4 points)


You have to do two hours of hard physical work. You are entirely free to plan your day. Which one of the following times would you choose most to do stuff?

A. 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. (4 points)
B. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (3 points)
C. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (2 points)
D. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (1 point)

You are planning a hard physical workout with a friend. You will do this for one hour twice a week. The best time for your friend is between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. How well do you think you would perform at this time?

A. Would be in good form (1 point)
B. Would be in reasonable form (2 points)
C. Would find it difficult (3 points)
D. Would find it very difficult (4 points)

Suppose that you’ve graduated high school and you can choose your own work hours. Assume you work a 5-hour day (including breaks) at an interesting job and are paid by your results. Which five consecutive hours would you select?

A. 3 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. (5 points)
B. 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (4 points)
C. Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. (3 points)
D. Between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (2 points)
E. 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. (1 point)

At what time of the day do you think that you reach your “feeling best” peak?

A. 4 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. (5 points)
B. 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. (4 points)
C. Between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (3 points)
D. Between 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (2 points)
E. 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. (1 point)

Do you think you are a “morning” or an “evening” type of person?

A. Definitely a “morning” type (6 points)
B. Probably a “morning” type (3 points)
C. Probably an “evening” type (2 points)
D. Definitely an “evening” type (1 point)

Click to the next page to find out what type you are.

Score results:

70 to 86: Definitely a morning type
59 to 69: Moderately a morning type
42 to 58: Neither type
31 to 41: Moderately an evening type
16 to 30: Definitely an evening type

Adapted from Horne, J. A. and O. Ostberg (1976) "A Self Assessment Questionnaire to Determine Morningness to Eveningness in Human Circadian Rhythms", International Journal of Chronobiology, 4, 97 to 110.

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