Scientists at Oxford University carried out a study showing that starting work before 10am is biological torture because it disrupts the body’s Circadian Rhythm and natural timers, which regulate our various functions. Researchers found that obstructing the Circadian Rhythm can have effects that resemble being tortured.
Dr Paul Kelley observes: “This is a huge society issue. Staff should start at 10am. You don’t get back to [the 9am] starting point until [age] 55. Staff are usually sleep-deprived. We’ve got a sleep-deprived society. It is hugely damaging on the body’s systems because you are affecting physical, emotional and performance systems in the body. Your liver and your heart have different patterns and you’re asking them to shift two or three hours. This is an international issue. Everybody is suffering and they don’t have to. We cannot change our 24-hour rhythms. You cannot learn to get up at a certain time. This applies in the bigger picture to prisons and hospitals. They wake up people and give people food they don’t want.”