The Ideal Workday Would Start at 10am
They've studied our body clocks, and now say that the ideal workday should start at 10am instead of 7, 8, or 9. Cool! But here's why none of that matters.
Have you noticed how aging affects sleep patterns? Older people get up before dawn, and teens want to sleep until mid afternoon. Sleep scientists say that's a normal thing, since the natural circadian rhythms shift forward as we get older. The older we get, the earlier we rise.
Growing up, my grandpa never missed an opportunity to flip on the coffee pot at 5am. He never set an alarm, but he shot out of bed at the same time every morning because that's what his body wanted to do. Meanwhile, my sister in her teens, would have slept until 2pm if my parents had let her. We're all wired differently, but much of the sleep-wake time has to do with the natural rhythms that we all sync up to naturally at different times in our lives.
Because of this, one sleep scientist says the workday really should start at 10am. It's the ideal time since our bodies have usually had a chance to adjust to being awake by then, and we're entering our most productive time of the day.
But it may not matter. Aren't most of us working around the clock already? We check email on our phones first thing in the morning and right before we drift off at night. Because we're so mobile, we're on the clock more than we probably realize.
Even though it sounds good in theory to start the work day at 10, somebody in Lufkin has to keep making the donuts! You guys are in there by 3 and 4am making batter and icing. And St. Luke's keeps going all night. We've got East Texans working all hours, and it works for them.
If this idea of having a 10am start time is a dream for you, strategically place the idea under the boss's nose. Right after he rolls in at 10:30!