Why watch the sunrise and how early waking up affects health

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Whether we like it or not, working hours have an impact on your health - if you are a nightmare and have difficulty getting up early, you should probably rethink your work schedule, as the consequences of not getting enough sleep can be much worse than being late every day.

Editor's note: Sleep has a huge impact on health, productivity and quality of life. If you suffer from sleep disorders (insomnia, apnea, restless legs syndrome, etc.), be sure to see your doctor.

According to chronobiologists, sleep deprivation cannot be compensated for with anything else. Chronobiology is a science that studies the conditions of occurrence, the nature, patterns and significance of circadian rhythms, as well as the relationship between circadian rhythms and human health.

Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms of the body with a period of about 24 hours, which are followed every day by all living things on our planet.

Circadian rhythms, or circadian rhythms, are directly related to the millions of years of life on Earth. It is a product of the interaction of the body's internal biological clock and the environment - not only sunlight, but many other factors determine behavior, regulate hormone levels, sleep, body temperature and metabolism. In humans, depending on the time of day, the physiological state, intellectual capabilities and even mood change cyclically.

Awareness of how circadian rhythms work can have both short-term and long-term health effects. Scientists today associate lack of sleep and subsequent disruption of circadian rhythms with the development of obesity and depression, as well as most chronic diseases.

To improve the quality of life, health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, you need to pay attention to the natural tendencies of your body ("chronotype").

What is a chronotype and why is it important?

The nature of a person's daily activity is called a chronotype. It reflects the daily dynamics of the functional activity of various organs and systems of the body. Depending on the activity of a person at one time or another of the day, 3 chronotypes are distinguished:

• "Larks" - morning type;
• "Pigeons" - daytime type;
• "Owls" are an evening type.

Each chronotype is characterized by specific features of life, which determine a high resistance to some factors and a pronounced sensitivity to others. That is why "owls", unlike "larks", find it difficult to awaken early.

Our preferences in behavior ("owls", "larks", "pigeons") are encoded in genes - they are called "clock gene" or "period gene". These genes are responsible for circadian rhythms, blood pressure, metabolism, body temperature, and hormone levels. Studies have identified a link between the length of the period gene and the chronotype of a person, as well as the amount of sleep a person needs per night.

According to a study published January 29, 2019 in the journal Nature Communications, the chronotype and belonging to "owls" or "larks" depends in part on the genome.

Scientists analyzed data on the genome of nearly 700,000 people. They compiled this sample from two large genetic databases: the British program Biobank UK and the genetic testing service 23andMe.

Comparing the results with the subjects' stated sleep preferences, an international team of researchers identified over 350 gene variations associated with early risers. Additional analysis showed that early risers went to bed on average 25 minutes earlier than carriers of the least gene variation.

In the course of the study, scientists have identified a link between a person's chronotype and his physical and mental health. It should be noted that early risers were less likely to report depression or schizophrenia and were more likely to report higher levels of well-being. As already known from previous studies, "owls" are at increased risk of obesity, diabetes and mental disorders. However, scientists did not reveal a strong bias towards late or early awakening among the subjects suffering from schizophrenia and depression.

That is why scientists believe that it is not mental disorders that knock down the daily regimen, but the tendency to live in the dark, which can also provoke the development of many diseases.

Where did the eight-hour day come from?

Today's Monday through Friday workweek from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM can seem overly regulated. But this relatively new model of work was seen as a victory for workers in the 19th and 20th centuries, who organized protest movements around the world to demand rights and better working conditions. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, most enterprises of the Russian Empire established a 9-10 hour working day, and on November 11 (October 30, old style), 1917, a decree of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) "On an eight-hour working day" was issued.

In the United States in the early 20th century, many Americans worked in dire conditions until Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, which essentially shaped the modern American work week.

One of the first businesses to introduce the eight-hour workday was Ford Motor Company, which in 1914 not only reduced the standard working day to eight hours, but also doubled the wages of its workers. The actions taken resulted in increased productivity for Ford, and the company's profits doubled in two years.

This has inspired many companies to establish eight-hour workdays in factories.

The reason why we work from 09:00 to 17:00 has nothing to do with science. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the eight-hour working day allowed entrepreneurs to effectively manage factories and plants.

Is it true that working from 09:00 to 17:00 is harmful to your health?

In 2015, Professor Paul Kelly of the Institute of Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford equated the 9:00 am to 5:00 pm working day with torture at the British Science Festival.

According to The Telegraph, an extensive study that examined the effect of sleep patterns on performance and general health of a person, which was carried out by scientists at the University of Oxford, showed that the beginning of the working day at 9 am for adults from 18 to 50 years old is harmful to health.

Companies that force employees to start early are likely to hurt themselves, while increasing the risk of illness among employees.

“This is a huge social problem. The working day should begin no earlier than 10 am. An adult can work from 9 am only after 55 years. Take a close look at our society - it suffers from sleep deprivation,”says Professor Kelly, who led the study.

According to Paul Kelly, we cannot change the circadian rhythms and train the body to get up at a certain time. Our liver and heart are working on their own schedule, and we ask them to move it two to three hours. This problem is causing suffering to people all over the world. The most common form of civilized torture is getting up early and starting the day before 10:00 am.

“Think of prisons and hospitals - people are woken up in the morning and fed breakfast even though they are not hungry. When you do not get enough sleep, you become more obedient, because you do not think well. Sleep deprivation is torture,”the scientist said.

Sleep deprivation has a serious health impact. Sleeping less than six hours a week will change the way your genes work. Lack of sleep affects performance, attention, long-term memory and contributes to the development of addictive disorders.

How will the working day change in the future?

Critics of the eight-hour workday often talk about modern technologies that make it possible to work remotely, as well as creating new and different jobs. Some studies have found that working a day as little as three hours improves productivity. By the way, there is evidence that most workers are able to work productively for only a few hours a day.

“In the future, no one will work from 09:00 to 17:00. Instead, you will simply work during the day while doing your own thing. You can plan your day however you want,”says Canadian writer Douglas Copeland, author of Generation X and an outspoken critic of the modern work model.

Copeland's position is shared by Richards Branson, a billionaire entrepreneur. He predicts that the rise of technology will soon force society to rethink the modern work week.

It's not just writers and billionaires that are worried about the future. Space X founder Elon Musk believes that technology may soon force us to change the way we think about the work week. This can also happen due to artificial intelligence, the development of which threatens many professions.

“A revision of the modern labor model is inevitable. This will happen anyway, and robots will do our job better than us,”said Elon Musk in 2017 during a meeting of the US National Association of Governors.

What to do?

The modern world is tailored for the "larks": the work and school day begins early. This makes many of the tasks more difficult for the owls. Constant lack of sleep, social jet lag and the need to adjust to morning-afternoon activities can negatively affect their health.

The preference for an evening-night lifestyle is associated with the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the digestive system, and can also lead to an increased risk of developing mental disorders.

But what if the work schedule does not coincide with the work of circadian rhythms?

As Alexander Kalinkin, head of the Lomonosov Moscow State University University clinic and expert of the European Society for Sleep Research, explains in an interview with MIR24, “re-educating an“owl”is a senseless and dangerous occupation. To avoid negative health consequences, you need to give the "owls" the opportunity to work on their schedule.

Breaking them is simply pointless: this will only lead to a sharp loss of working capacity, and neither the employer nor the employee will get any better from this. If a person works in a certain rhythm, one should try to adhere to it for a long period of time."

If you won the "owl chronotype" in the genetic lottery and if we are not talking about pathologies and sleep disorders, do not torment yourself with harmful thoughts about how to get up early. Instead, think about how to change your work schedule to the most appropriate and maintain sleep hygiene: sleep in a well-ventilated area, do not drink coffee or alcohol before bed, and do not use gadgets.