Not everyone wants to divide their day into eight-hour blocks and that has a name: chronodiversity

Six in the morning, the alarm goes off. While some people are now looking forward to the socially standardized working day, there is a part of the population that cannot cope with the rhythm of many companies and employers. But why is that actually the case?

One dealt with this exciting question Xataka articles from April 24, 2024. More precisely, it is about the so-called Chronodiversity. But first things first.

Why we report on it: Work is part of a lot of people's lives. However, some of them become, so to speak, a temporal rhythm put overthe effects of which have only been partially researched.

• According to the site, the sleep deficit is costing Germany business eleven 60 billion euros annually.
• This is due to our internal circadian clock, which can vary depending on the person MSD manual reported.
• Burnout can be a possible result of lack of sleep.

Worth knowing: In this video you can get a quick overview of what burnout actually means. On the website of the Maltese You can also find further information and support for Pupils and students.

Link to YouTube content

What is the circadian clock?

The circadian clock is a complex biological system that controls the internal temporal rhythms of living things. It is even assumed that every cell in the body has its own clock.

In detail: The Xataka article deals with various theories as to why many people find it difficult to adhere to socially normative work and sleep rhythms and how this can negatively affect our society as a whole.

This rhythm is often associated with the English term 9 to 5 described. This refers to the widespread working hours from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon.

Chronodiversity: Every person literally ticks differently

There are several voices that speak out against the classic working week or in favor of chronodiversity.

In addition to a fundamental discussion by an author, Xataka's article provides scientific approaches and explanations as to why people are more productive at different times of the day.

Where the term comes from: Jenny Odell is the author in question who wrote a book called A few years ago How to do nothing published. Among other things, the term chronodiversity is associated with this work.

Basically, every organism and its internal clock is influenced by external factors such as light. The day must according to the Max Planck Society not exactly 24 hours.

In addition, every person reacts differently to the respective factors depending on their culture or origin.

Conclusion of this thesis: Not everyone can reach their full potential at six in the morning if, according to their own clock, they are more of a night bird than an early riser.

Also important: Not everyone can read the magazine wired According to him, it is best to work in the classic 8-hour blocks.

If the aim is generally to recover after a strenuous day at work, games can also be helpful, as the following trailer shows.

Modern social illness: constant availability

What also plays a role in the rejection of a classic 8-hour working day rhythm? Our work often requires us to do our work at any time and be available anywhere – at least according to many companies' wishes.

This is what the magazine quotes El Mundo for example Manel Fernández Jaria, Professor of Economics and Business Administration at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC):

The result of constant availability: This means that the day often no longer fits into the classic three eights divided into: eight hours of work, eight hours of rest, eight hours of free time. Rather, it often looks like this these days:

According to Jaria, this leads to major social problems:

It is therefore hardly surprising that the rejection of classical rhythm is fueling more and more critical voices.

That says Jennifer Mossauthor and contributor to the Harvard Business Review.

The effects? A human (and financial) loss

So if you work against your internal clock, you can end up disrupting your sleep rhythm. The statement You get used to it then is this one ARD article scientifically outdated.

Measurable consequences for our sleep: In the period from 1979 to 2016, the average sleep duration decreased, according to business-eleven and Statista from an average of 8.5 hours to just 6.5 hours.

But sleeping sufficiently long and well is important. Focus Online writes, for example, that too little restful sleep significantly increases the risk of burnout symptoms.

That’s how big the problem of burnout is in Germany: Every fifth German complains today McKinsey Health Institute about burnout symptoms such as constant fatigue, difficulty concentrating or a strong rejection of one's own professional activity.

According to the report, these symptoms are also caused by workplace bullying, lack of professional recognition and development, among other things, and are not exclusively due to lack of sleep.

Financial consequences of lack of sleep: As mentioned at the beginning, lack of sleep causes according to a study In Germany alone, annual damage amounts to 60 billion euros. This corresponds to around 1.56 percent of our GDP (gross domestic product), i.e. how much the country achieves economically per year.

Alternatives to the socially normative alarm clock ringing

Flexible start to school as inspiration? A field test on Alsdorf High School showed that a flexible time model had a positive effect on the learning outcomes of the students there.

We're talking about COPEP chronotype-optimized personnel deployment planning.

This is a long-term experiment Wartenberg Clinicin which the employees depending on internal clock have been adjusted to their respective rosters. An excerpt of the results:

• 42 percent fewer people complained about sleep disorders
• 20 percent fewer people report poor to very poor sleep quality
• 26 percent more people said they no longer felt tired during the day

Even though it's just one study, the results sound promising. There seems to be at least some evidence to suggest that it can be worthwhile to listen to your own internal clock – and to enable people to do exactly that as best as possible.