School
Why does school start at 8 AM?
School discriminates against B-persons (late risers). Research shows that almost most all teenagers are B-persons. An 8 am start is in the middle of the biological night of young people, and B-persons receive poorer grades than A-persons if exams take place early in the day. Only when exams take place in the early afternoon are A-persons and B-persons competing on an equal basis.
Work
We need to break free from 9 to 5 society and its lack of respect for B-person’s circadian rhythms. Quality of life, health, infrastructure and productivity would all improve if we offered people work hours matching their circadian rhythms. In a knowledge-based society getting up early in the morning is no longer what is important. Instead it is about working when you are most productive.
Health
80 percent of the population are awakened up by an alarm clock to fit into the morning-oriented society. Being a late riser in an early riser society has a negative impact on your health.
The difference between biological time (internal clock) and social time (school and work hours) is called social jetlag. The 9 to 5 society sets B-persons up for poorer health, as B-persons experience greater social jetlag. If there is a five-hour difference between when you get up on school/work days and when you get up on days off, you have a five hour social jetlag – and it is in this category that we find 60 per cent of smokers. By comparison, only ten percent of smokers are found in the section of the population that does not experience social jetlag. Research shows that for every hour of social jetlag, the risk of obesity increases by 33 per cent.
