How well do our working hours actually align with our biological clock? BioClock researcher Heidi Lammers-van der Holst recently spoke about this on BNR Nieuwsradio, following new Finnish research into chronotype and work-related disability.
The study followed over 5,000 people for twelve years. Their chronotype was determined, and records were kept of whether they became unable to work over the course of the study.
The results, whilst perhaps not entirely unexpected, were quite shocking. Evening people were found to receive disability benefits more often than morning people. By the age of 58, this risk was as much as 70 per cent higher for evening people.
According to Heidi, this does not automatically mean that being a night owl directly leads to disability. Rather, it is the mismatch between our biological clock and the times at which we are expected to work that can play a significant role. She explains that working against your natural rhythm increases the risk of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even some forms of cancer.
Heidi therefore emphasises that employers could take greater account of their employees’ chronotypes. In her view, more flexible working hours can help to minimise this disruption. And the good news is that Heidi is seeing more and more employers paying attention to the impact of working hours on sleep and the biological clock.
Listen to the interview with Heidi on BNR and read the full article here.
