Being a naturally anxious or stressed person could be affecting your sleep. Perfectionism and being prone to depression may be directly contributing to your insomnia.

Sleep experts who have studied insomniacs have concluded that certain personality traits could indicate a predisposition to insomnia. Simply, your personality type affects your sleeping patterns.

Researchers agree that there are five personality types that suffer from insomnia in different ways and for different reasons. These range from type 1 – highly distressed – to type 5 – slightly distressed with low reactivity. Finding your personality type can help you address insomnia. Here are the ways in which your personality type affects your sleep:

Night owls versus early birds

Research shows that your genetics will determine whether you are an early bird or a night owl. Your internal clock’s schedule is determined by your chronotype and your genetics determines your chronotype.

Further, night owls tend to identify more with type B personality traits, while early birds relate more to type A personality traits. According to this, early birds have lower rates of depression, lower levels of anxiety, and are happier with life. 

Night owls tend to be higher risk-takers who are more creative but suffer more from insomnia. It is also said that type As are more goal-driven while type Bs are more laid back.

Struggling to fall asleep

If you are a type A personality, chances are you are probably an over-thinker. This could mean you have some trouble with letting go of what stresses you, especially at night when you are preparing for sleep. This might result in you replaying the actions of the day or worrying about many things.

This inability to turn off your brain may lead to you struggling to fall asleep. Being kept awake by your anxiety can be treated through therapy. What many people recommend is writing down all your thoughts before bed and setting them aside till the morning.

Is my personality type ruining my sleep?

If you know your personality type you might already be able to relate to these explanations. However, if you do not, you might be wondering to what extent your personality type affects your sleep.

An enneagram test categorizes the human mind into 9 personality types. This is useful in understanding how your mind works and why you respond the way you do to stressors and your environment. 

Checking your personality type is as simple as taking a fifteen-minute online personality test. Once you know your personality type, it will become easier to address insomnia’s causes, and perhaps manage your sleep schedule better.

Addressing personality-related insomnia

It is important to understand that insomnia is completely within your control. If it’s common for you to say that you are lucky to get a few hours of sleep each night, then you should see your doctor. Your primary healthcare provider should be able to help you find the root cause of your insomnia and address it with medication or treatment.

If the root cause of your insomnia is a mental health issue like anxiety or depression, you might need to visit a mental health specialist. A mental health specialist can address these problems with proper medication for the underlying issue, such as antidepressants. Behavioral interventions can also be of help to address these problems.

If these methods are ineffective and your insomnia persists, you might want to address the problem through sleep-specific cognitive behavioral therapy. This will help you identify negative thoughts and change them into positive thoughts that have an overall positive outcome. Sleep therapy could cure your insomnia if executed correctly.