Author: bioclock

This year, the city of Leiden is the European Capital of Science. Each day of the year 2022 focusses on a theme on which research is done in Leiden. On March 25, it is the Day of the Biological Clock. This is the day before Daylight Savings Time takes place which is no coincidence because that causes serious disruption of the clock. BioCLock and the LUMC will organize activities on this day during which you may learn more about the biological clock and how it influences our...

The biological clock of people is not set to be active at night, and yet thousands of people do this every night. In health care, logistics, security, etc. For some people this is not an issue, for other it is a big problem. These shift workers have an increased risk to develop health problems, which is one of the focus points of BioClock research within WP1.3 De Volkskrant national newspaper wrote an extensive article on the consequences of working at night (in Dutch).

Emma Visser works at the Eindhoven University of Technology to study light therapy. This is a commonly used form of therapy for depressed patients, but how it exactly works or can be best applied is still under investigation. During her PhD project, Emma will study those questions under the supervision of dr. Luc Schlangen and prof. Yvonne de Kort. Emma introduces herself below: Who are you? I am Emma Visser, and living and working in Eindhoven. Besides working I like to...

On January 1st 2022, PhD candidate Gali Albalak started her research project at the Leiden University Medical Centre and Leyden academy. She will investigate whether the time of exercise, morning or evening, matters in maintaining a healthy circadian clock and whether this helps in growing old healthy and happily. She will carry out this research under supervision of dr. Raymond Noordam, dr. ir. Diana van Heemst and prof. dr. David van Bodegom. Gali introduces herself below. ...

The announcement of loosening the covid rules on January 25 (in the Netherlands) will make live a little easier for many people. But the night scene will stay locked for a while longer because from 10 PM all bars remain closed. Editie NL (dutch national news channel) asked BioClock coordinator and professor LUMC Joke Meijer how the absence of this night life may affect adolescents. The mental health of these students has declined in the past year and the COVID rules have further...

Adolescents are strongly affected by the COVID rules, particularly because they are more focused on night activities than others in the population. Their biological clock makes them more night owls and during their part of life, social aspects are crucial. Therefore, Het Parool (national newspaper) wrote an article about this and included the opinion of BioClock coordinator Joke Meijer. Read the article here (in Dutch).

The Dutch national newspaper Trouw wrote an article about nocturnal light. Why are the lights on everywhere? It is not necessary and harmful. BioClock researcher Kamiel Spoelstra further explains how this light affects nature. You can read the article here (in Dutch).