Article
Single-Item Chronotyping (SIC), a method to self-assess diurnal types by using 6 simple charts
Research on individual differences in the fields of chronobiology and chronopsychology mostly focuses on two – morning and evening – chronotypes. However, recent developments in these fields pointed at a possibility to extend chronotypology beyond just two chronotypes. We examined this possibility by implementing the Single- Item Chronotyping (SIC) as a method for self-identification of chronotype among six simple chart options il- lustrating the daily change in alertness level. Of 2283 survey participants, 2176 (95%) chose one of these op- tions. Only 13% vs. 24% chose morning vs. evening type (a fall vs. a rise of alertness from morning to evening), while the majority of participants chose four other types (with a peak vs. a dip of alertness in the afternoon and with permanently high vs. low alertness levels throughout the day, 15% vs. 18% and 9% vs. 16%, respectively). The same 6 patterns of diurnal variation in sleepiness were yielded by principal component analysis of sleepiness curves. Six chronotypes were also validated against the assessments of sleep timing, excessive daytime sleepi- ness, and abilities to wake or sleep on demand at different times of the day. We concluded that the study results supported the feasibility of classification with the 6 options provided by the SIC.