Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You're So Tired

Till Roenneberg

Published by Harvard University Press 2012

Internal Time

Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You're So Tired

Till Roenneberg

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674065482

Overview
Contents

About this book

Early birds and night owls are born, not made. Sleep patterns may be the most obvious manifestation of the highly individualized biological clocks we inherit, but these clocks also regulate bodily functions from digestion to hormone levels to cognition. Living at odds with our internal timepieces, Till Roenneberg shows, can make us chronically sleep deprived and more likely to smoke, gain weight, feel depressed, fall ill, and fail geometry. By understanding and respecting our internal time, we can live better.

Internal Time combines storytelling with accessible science tutorials to explain how our internal clocks work—for example, why morning classes are so unpopular and why “lazy” adolescents are wise to avoid them. We learn why the constant twilight of our largely indoor lives makes us dependent on alarm clocks and tired, and why social demands and work schedules lead to a social jet lag that compromises our daily functioning.

Many of the factors that make us early or late “chronotypes” are beyond our control, but that doesn’t make us powerless. Roenneberg recommends that the best way to sync our internal time with our external environment and feel better is to get more sunlight. Such simple steps as cycling to work and eating breakfast outside may be the tickets to a good night’s sleep, better overall health, and less grouchiness in the morning.

Author / Editor information

Roenneberg Till :

Till Roenneberg is Professor at the Institute of Medical Psychology at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich.

Topics

Frontmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	i
Contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Worlds Apart Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	8
2. Of Early Birds and Long Sleepers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
3. Counting Sheep Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
4. A Curious Astronomer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
5. The Lost Days Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
6. The Periodic Shift Worker Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
7. The Fast Hamster Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
8. Dawn at the Gym Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
9. The Elusive Transcript Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
10. Temporal Ecology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
11. Wait until Dark Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
12. The End of Adolescence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
13. What a Waste of Time! Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	106
14. Days on Other Planets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	114
15. When Will My Organs Arrive? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
16. The Scissors of Sleep Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
17. Early Socialists, Late Capitalists Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	152
18. Constant Twilight Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
19. From Frankfurt to Morocco and Back Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
20. Light at Night Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
21. Partnership Timing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
22. A Clock for All Seasons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	202
23. Professional Selection Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214
24. The Nocturnal Bottleneck Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 270
Illustrations
- Other: 1 halftone, 40 line illustrations

eBook

Published: August 25, 2012
ISBN: 9780674065482