Starting work before 10 am is tantamount to torture: Sleep expert

Zee Media Bureau

Oxford: Getting up early in the morning for school or work can be quite painful, right? All those of you while reading this and yawning in your offices will certainly agree with me.

Now, an Oxford University researcher, Paul Kelley has claimed that forcing staff to start work before 10 a.m. is tantamount to torture and is making employees ill, exhausted and stressed. And gradually, we are becoming a sleep-deprived society.

Before the age of 55, the circadian rhythms of adults are completely out of sync with normal nine-to-five working hours, posing a “serious threat” to performance, mood and mental health.

He said that companies who force employees to start work earlier are also likely to be hurting their output, while storing up health problems for staff.

Kelley said there was a need for a huge societal change to move work and school starting times to fit with the natural body clock of humans.

Kelley has suggested that children eight to 10 should start school at 8:30 a.m. or later, 16-year-olds should start at 10 a.m. and 18-year-olds should start at 11 a.m.