Science recommends living better according to your internal clock and paying more attention to the performance peaks of the different chronotypes at work and at school. She also recommends abolishing the time change.
On Sunday night the clock was changed to summer time, so for us the day starts an hour earlier. This has an impact on our internal clock, as many processes in the human body are organized rhythmically, for example heartbeat and breathing and also our sleep.
In the CIRCADIA project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research and the FOM University of Economics and Management investigated how we could better harmonize everyday life with our internal clock.
High performance varies depending on the chronotype
The point in time at which people are particularly productive varies from person to person. Different chronotypes can be identified. Some people like to wake up early, reach their peak performance in the morning and go to bed early – they are called larks.
Others only reach their peak performance in the early evening and get up late; they are called owls. There are various gradations in between. Because we are all clocked by our “internal clock”. But far too little is known about it.
“Most people don’t even know the word circadian rhythms, internal clocks. They think it’s something esoteric. Most people don’t even know what damage it can cause to health if you work against your own internal clocks, all around the clock,” says scientist Kerstin Cuhls from the Fraunhofer Institute ISI in Karlsruhe.
More and more often against the internal clock
Digitalization and technological progress are promoting the tendency for people to no longer work in harmony with their internal clock. This has become even more pronounced since the corona pandemic.
This is also shown by a survey of almost 2,000 people that was carried out as part of the CIRCADIA project. Participants answered questions about sleeping and waking habits, screen use and how this type of technology use has changed since the pandemic.
“Above all, we found that people are engaging in bedtime procrastination more and more. This means that they are spending more and more time watching films or series, playing on their smartphone or laptop in the evening and therefore going to bed later and later,” says researcher Cuhls .
A modern dilemma
40 percent of those surveyed said they would consciously change their bedtime even if they knew they would regret it the next day. This is a modern dilemma and not the only one.
Apparently people aren’t particularly good at controlling their sleep patterns. But lack of sleep has a major impact on the internal clock.
CIRCADIA project leader Cuhls says: “We already have a high proportion of people who have mental problems and disorders. Some of these disorders are certainly due to a lack of sleep. Some depression, some ADHD-like phenomena that are currently emerging, we “We are already seeing this more and more in younger people, and this is further exacerbated by a lack of sleep.”
Call for the abolition of summer time
But there are a few things you can do to enable better and more sleep – and therefore more balance, better performance and greater well-being.
Those involved in the project cite the abolition of summer time as the first and easy-to-implement measure. From a chronobiological point of view, standard time is best all year round in Central Europe so that people get enough sleep.
The team also recommends starting school later for teenagers, ideally starting in fifth grade. Although it has long been known that the sleeping and getting up rhythm shifts later in teenage years, lessons usually start at 8 a.m. For most teenagers – including early guys – this happens in the middle of the night.
Move more activities outside
A third important point is to encourage longer stays in daylight for everyone. So move as many activities and encounters as possible outdoors. Natural daylight helps you stay in tune with your internal clock.
Not only could some school lessons be relocated outdoors, but also some meetings and other activities. And if not at work, at least do more outside in your free time to take advantage of the natural light.
Daylight should become a central health issue
Kerstin Cuhls demands that the opportunity to work, go to school and play in daylight should receive more attention as a central health issue in the future. In addition, the incidence of daylight should be used more intelligently in new buildings. Currently, large windows in offices are often darkened in the summer so that screen monitors can be worked on without glare.
Last but not least, the influence of climate change and the rising temperatures in our latitudes must also be taken into account, warns Cuhls. “Because we could get such temperatures here that we would hardly be able to sleep.”
Lack of sleep is a problem for society as a whole
If internal clocks are thrown out of sync due to lack of sleep, people can become ill. There is currently a sharp increase in mental illnesses and disorders in particular, says Cuhls.
This is likely to increase. We haven’t been able to stop it yet. And if we continue to treat ourselves this way for a long time, then we are truly disconnected. This can then lead to metabolic problems and even metabolic syndrome. But we also have social problems in the health system because it can no longer deal with them.
Kerstin Cuhls, CIRCADIA project manager
Focus more on chronotypes
The researchers recommend striving for a society that is more conscious of the different chronotypes in everyday life. For example, employers could arrange rotating shifts so that the early shifts are done by the early guys and the late shifts by the late guys.
Anja Braun, SWR, tagesschau, March 31, 2024 8:39 a.m