Sleeping to a schedule : does chronotype play a part?

Aims: Athletes are often instructed to maintain target bed and wake up times to ensure they obtain adequate sleep. This type of approach, however, may not suit all individuals because of differences in circadian preference or chronotype. For example, evening types or ‘owls’ may find it difficult to cope with a schedule that requires early bed and wake up times. To explore this issue, the present study examined the impact of chronotype on the ability to cope with a target bed (22:00 h) and wake up time (07:30 h) in a group of endurance cyclists.