Morning larks vs night owls: does your body clock warp time?

NCT ID NCT07292597

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: University of Aarhus Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study looks at how being a 'morning person' or 'night owl' changes the way you experience time. Healthy adults aged 23-45 will do computer tasks at their preferred time of day and again at the opposite time. Researchers want to see if time judgments and alertness are worse when you're out of sync with your natural rhythm.

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 128 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Oct 2025

Expected to finish

Jun 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

23 to 45 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 23 to 45 years * Able to understand and communicate in Danish * Completed at least upper secondary education (e.g., gymnasium) * Categorized as either a Morning Type (MT) or Evening Type (ET) based on standardized chronotype assessments: * Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ): * MT: sleep midpoint on free days (MSFsc) ≤ 03:00 * ET: sleep midpoint on free days (MSFsc) ≥ 05:00 * Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ): * One of four defined chronotype categories (definitely morning, moderately morning, moderately evening, definitely evening). Exclusion Criteria: * Current engagement in shift work, rotating schedules, or other forms of irregular sleep-wake timing * Diagnosis of any neurological, psychiatric, or sleep-related disorder (e.g., insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea) * Use of medications that affect sleep, alertness, or circadian functioning (e.g., melatonin, stimulants, antidepressants) * International travel across time zones within the four weeks preceding study participation * Are classified as having an intermediate chronotype based on validated chronotype assessments (MCTQ or MEQ), as this group does not provide the necessary contrast to evaluate circadian alignment effects.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

circadian rhythm sleep disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Circadian rhythm Time perception

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

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Morning larks vs night owls: does your body clock warp time?

What the study statuses mean