Above is the circadian rhythm in simple terms. The research studies are interesting. When volunteers were put into rooms without any external cues, they automatically went into a 25 hour cycle.
30% of people have a biorythm that starts an average of four hours later. The so called night owls. For whatever reason they are at the most alert in the evening and early morning hours. This remains the case ones whole life. People used to believe that individuals who were not up with the birds were somehow lazy when that is obviously not the case. It's simply a matter of one's individual genetics and can't be changed. The myth persists however.
Marcel Proust was among one of the most famous. He was up all night writing. Many lawyers end up in that profession because they can study and prepare the cases at night. There are employers who are starting to offer later shifts at night because people who have that difference are more productive as a result. There is additional research that they may be more intelligent but that may simply be due to the fact that there are less distractions in the evening.
Health problems occur when people are forced to be up earlier than they can be simply because the majority of society runs nine to five.
Additionally, we do most of our immune system repair while sleeping (neutrophils, lymphocytes) which is why people who get a good night's sleep are healthier.
Running the studio, raising kids, we lived by the clock. Retired, not an early riser, laid back mornings, I'm most productive between 11 and 1:30, sometimes additionally between 3 and 5. Interesting that the deepest sleep is at 2 AM which is often when I wake or at 3 and will be awake for at least an hour, sometimes long. Not every night. I read one theory that we naturally have two sleep cycles, that in victorian times people would sleep for about 4 hours and then wake even getting dressed and conducting business or discussing household things with no distractions, before settling down for the second sleep.
ReplyDeleteCodex: Bad nutrition back then, the long afternoon nap was quite common. Not a natural sleep cycle. Modern life can be very hectic as we all experience.
ReplyDeleteCodex: @Ellen I think (not sure) that electricity started in Victorian times?
ReplyDeleteWhen I grew up, there was this sacred thing called Mittagsruhe when all shops and businesses would shut down between 1 and 3. Actually it's been in existence in the suburbs here until the mid 90s. By law you were not allowed to mow your lawn or practise the piano and make any noise that would disturb this Mittagsruhe. The law has softened but it's expected that people keep their noise levels down in that time or at least warn their neighbours if they need to sand down the floor or do other renovation work.
ReplyDeleteMy parents - as most parents and neighbours - would go for a midday nap after Saturday and Sunday lunch, during which time we were expected to do boring quiet stuff like homework. It seemed to go on forever until at 3 pm, my father would wake up and make coffee.
If you travel in Italy, Spain, Portugal etc. you will find shops and restaurants, cafes etc. shut often until 5 pm and little public activity in the towns.
As for the circadian rhythm, endocrine regulation plays a big role and as hormones change with age, so does the rhythm, teenagers are a good example. We have this forever debate about whether schools start too early here at 8 am, which including commute means that many kids get up between 6 and 7. There's plenty of research to show that students whose lessons started later performed better at school.
Codex: @Sabine i know that in southern EU countries you can't even buy a pack of gum at lunch. Due to the heat. Why did Germany have that?
ReplyDeleteThe high school debate has been going on for decades. Teenagers are night owls until hormones and proteins settle down. Performance is better and many do well with night school and online courses.
Labour laws. Germany still prioritises employee protection. Not too long ago, supermarkets shut down at 6 pm. Now they stay open to 8 pm in built up areas. Other businesses apart from restaurants and bars/clubs close at 7 pm the latest. On Sunday's and public holidays only cafes and restaurants are open, bakeries - if they want to - sell breakfast rolls 8 - 11 am. That's also Labour laws (overtime/weekend regulations) but the churches play a role too. If you run out of milk on a Sunday you need to go to a petrol station or your neighbours.
Delete@Sabine I was referring to people whose endogenic systems start later than average once their adults.
ReplyDeleteSame in Mexico and I assume the latin American countries, the afternoon siesta. Stores close down because their proprietors are avoiding the afternoon heat, other professions also. When I was 13 my sister and I spent two weeks in Mexico City with friends of our parents while they were on vacation. Because of the siesta, people worked into the evening hours. The family we stayed with didn't have dinner until almost 10 in the evening though the young children were fed early and put to bed.
ReplyDeleteIt's remarkable how social systems continue to conflict with science.
ReplyDeleteCodex: Succinct. You said in one sentence what I tried to convey in a post. Well done.
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