According to Dr. Paul Kelley, a leading researcher at Oxford University, having to wake up and start working before 10 a.m. has a huge effect on our overall health.
Apparently, the circadian rhythm, or the biological timer within our body, is a genetically pre-programmed cycle that regulates the production of hormones, our energy, our brain activity, and perception of time.
Therefore, it is unnaturally affected by waking up early in the morning, and it leads to numerous imbalances in the body.
As he explains:
“We cannot change our 24-hour rhythms. You cannot learn to get up at a certain time…your liver and your heart have different patterns and you’re asking them to shift two or three hours.”
In the early 20th century, employers designed the 8-hour working day to maximize 24/7 factory productivity, without taking these facts into consideration. Yet, our bodies are negatively affected as they evolved around the daily cycle of sunlight, not the contemporary business strategies.
Kelley, speaking at the British Science Festival, added:
“We’ve got a sleep-deprived society” and “this is an international issue. Everybody is suffering and they don’t have to.”
He proposed to move the start time of a school in Britain from 8:30 am to 10:00 am. The numerous exams conducted at a chosen school showed improvements in the attendance levels, grades, and general productivity of the school.
Such changes would bring about improvements in numerous social sectors as well, as people would work more attentively, focused and full of energy.
On the other hand, employees who start working before 10 o’clock in the morning are exposed to emotional and physical stress, and thus encourage long-term, adverse health risks.
Source: www.healthy-holistic-living.com