If you don’t feel like getting up early, there’s a reason! Just 7 days with less than 6 hours of sleep a night can lead to over 700 changes in the way our genes function, according to the University of Surrey. Not to mention its impact on our performance, memory, concentration and the consequences it can pose, including anger, impulsiveness, weight gain, high blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.
Here at The Elite Indian, we keep our eyes open when it comes to new research and always try to use the power of knowledge for good. So here’s a clear explanation of why you’d better not wake up before 10 am — science has our back!
Our bodies and wallets will thank us for starting work after 10 am.
According to research conducted by Dr. Paul Kelley at Oxford University, starting work or school after 10 am could be the essential change our bodies need. Realigning with our bodies’ internal clocks can save us not only energy and nerve cells, but also hundreds or even thousands of dollars we end up spending on hospital visits.
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In 2015, Dr. Kelley spoke at the British Science Festival in Bradford and shared that our sleep times as a tremendous society is an issue and touched on how sleep-deprived the modern world is.
We can’t learn to get up at a certain time.
We cannot change our 24-hour rhythm, according to Dr. Kelley. Humans are not able to learn to get up at a certain time. Despite all their efforts, a mammal’s day depends on sunlight and we’re not conscious of it as it reports directly to the brain, not sight. So when we force ourselves to wake up or go to work earlier than our body wants to, a lack of sleep causes a lot of stress and can feel a lot like torture.
Starting work before 10 am makes us feel exhausted.
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The researchers at Oxford University stated that forcing employees to start work before 10 am is making them ill, exhausted, and stressed. Until the age of 55, our daily rhythms are totally unsynchronized with the “9-to-5” working day, causing a genuine threat to employees’ productivity and their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Waking up early leads to anxiety and frustration.
As Dr. Kelley shared, a lack of sleep may result in changes like mood swings, anxiety, anger, frustration, weight gain, etc. Also, when you wake up unnaturally with the help of an alarm (and a frequently pressed “snooze” button), it makes you feel half asleep when you finally wake up which is known as sleep inertia.
In this way, your work performance can be affected for periods of up to 3-4 hours which is usually linked to major accidents, shared researcher, Stuart McFarlane. This is extra important in regards to jobs that require employees to be part of dangerous situations shortly after waking up, like firefighters, ambulance staff, and pilots.
Sleep deprivation causes great health problems.
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A bad sleep schedule and sleep deprivation significantly affect almost all the internal systems of a human body — digestive, cardiovascular, endocrine, and more. And it can cause diverse types of health problems, starting with a weakened immune system and hormonal changes and finishing with depression, heart disease, and even diabetes.
Dr. Kelley tested his theory in several schools across Britain where classes started at 10 am instead of 8 am and students had a chance to sleep longer. These changes not only increased productivity but also improved the level of attendance and common health and boosted their moods.
When do you usually wake up? Do you get enough sleep? We’d be happy to hear from you in the comments below!
Preview photo credit Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide / Katy Perry / Youtube
