18 Sep 2015

Are we underslept because we start work too early?

From Nine To Noon, 9:20 am on 18 September 2015
'Self-Portrait, Yawning' by Joseph Ducreux (1783)

'Self-Portrait, Yawning' by Joseph Ducreux (1783) Photo: Public Domain

A sleep expert says the working day needs to be changed as it's akin to torture for a sleep-deprived society.

Dr Paul Kelley from the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at Oxford University says a lot of people are chronically underslept and are becoming exhausted and ill.

He says circadian rhythms - the physical, mental and behavioural changes throughout a 24-hour cycle - are out often out of tune with the classic working hours of 9 to 5 and it's affecting people's physical, emotional and performance systems.