Happy & Healthy

Why you should never start working before 10 AM

“See, I told you so,” I can now yell at all my friends who didn’t believe me. Me -not so ochtendpersoon– has been advocating for years that it’s better to start just a little later. But I never had the science on my side.

Until now.

Dr. Paul Kelley is my new best friend. This professor at the University of Oxford (yes, really not just anyone) argues in The Telegraph that we should only crack our brains later in the day. That half past 8 or 9 o'clock (and for some poor bastards even earlier) is actually not good for you at all. In fact: it’s pure torture, it exhausts employees more and causes more stress. According to him, we should adjust our working hours more to our biological clock.

Look, that’s a man after my own heart. I can get really cheerful from professors who make these kinds of statements. I want to read it when someone knowledgeable says that wine is good for the waistline (yes really, look here but). Or that sleeping in makes you a better person.

”Are you reading along, May? On Monday, we’ll open the papers half an hour later,”

The good news-bringing Paul explains: “Our sleep-wake rhythm does not sync with our standard working hours before our 55th year, which more than ever leads to a bad mood and concentration problems. And this in turn affects our mood and work drive.” According to Paul, not only employers but also schools should adjust their start times. The result according to him? Fewer sick days and more positive energy. Ha, and that’s what we all want, of course.

Are you reading along, May? On Monday, we’ll open the papers half an hour later. First, just a little extra snooze. Bye!