Stop Chasing Dawn and Embrace Your Inner Wolf

You’ve been told to rise with the sun, but that advice works best only for so-called lions. They sprint past dawn, thriving on early light, while most of us hit the snooze button.

Science reveals four chronotypes—lions, bears, wolves, and dolphins—each wired to peak at different times. Lions roar at 5 a.m.; bears hum along at mid-morning; wolves build momentum after lunch; dolphins—which often resemble insomniacs—shine in shorter spurts. Trying to work your non-lion brain at dawn is like speaking in the wrong accent: you sound off, and no one understands.

When Susan, a born wolf, dragged herself to 6 a.m. yoga classes, she felt exhausted and foggy. She shifted her workouts to 1 p.m.—her wolf self awakened. Suddenly she not only mastered arm balances but also had enough energy to power through afternoon calls. Her team noticed her spark suddenly rebirthed.

Our circadian clocks rely on light signals. Morning sun floods your suprachiasmatic nucleus—your internal clock—with a wake-up call, while blue light at dusk holds it hostage. Blocking that late-day glow and syncing with your natural rhythm shifts you from fighting your biology to flourishing with it.

You decide to treat your sleep like a data point, not a badge of honor. For a week, you ditch alarms and track your natural wake times. Then you carve out your peak window—say 2 to 4 p.m.—for creative work, and block it off. You slip on blue-blockers after sunset and bask in morning light before breakfast. As the week closes, you’ll feel the strain of mismatched schedules melt away, leaving flow states that once seemed elusive. Plan your first shift tomorrow and lean into your inner lion, bear, wolf, or dolphin.