If you need an alarm clock to wake up for work, its a problem

If you need an alarm clock to wake up for work, its a problemIf you need an alarm clock to wake up for work, its a problemAn article inThe New York Timeshighlights a recent trend among companies across the globe allowing employees to tweak their schedules based on when they work best.One expert, Cline Vetter, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and director of the universitys circadian and sleep epidemiology lab, told The Times Emily Laber-Warren that as many as 80% of people have work schedules that clash with their internal clocks. These internal clocks are also known as chronotypes, or your biological predisposition to be a morning person, an evening person, or somewhere in between.Scientists have been studying chronobiology for a while. But the topic has gained more widespread attention recently. For example, in his book The Power of When, psychologist and sleep specialist Dr. Michael Breus assigns labels tobroad categories of chronotypes dolphins, lio ns, bears, and wolves. According to Breus, roughly half the population is made up of bears, meaning their internal clocks track the rise and fall of the sun and they need a full eight hours of sleep a night.You can tell if your chronotype clashes with your work schedule by asking yourself a simple question Do you use an alarm clock to wake up? If so, Laber-Warren writes, youre out of sync with your own biology.Employees who work at companies that mandate the same, strict work hours for everyone may have it rough. But more organizations are starting to recognize the important role chronotypes play in performance, and encouraging people to figure out their own.For example, The Times article mentions a ThyssenKrupp steel factory in Germany, which assigned shifts based on chronotypes. Researchers reported that employees got more (and better quality) sleep.And at the Denmark offices of AbbVie, a pharmaceutical company, employees go through a nine-hour training program that helps them fig ure out when they should tackle tough projects, and then craft their work schedules accordingly.This article welches originally published on Business Insider.close dialogAdvertisement close dialog/* effects for .bx-campaign-1012255 *//* custom css .bx-campaign-1012255 */.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-type-agilityzone .bx-close z-index 2-ms-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from -ms-transform rotate(0deg) to -ms-transform rotate(360deg) -moz-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from -moz-transform rotate(0deg) to -moz-transform rotate(360deg) -webkit-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from -webkit-transform rotate(0deg) to -webkit-transform rotate(360deg) keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from transform rotate(0deg) to transform rotate(360deg) bx-close-inside-1012255 top 0 right 0 / * KD - Remove padding from video wrapper and set height to 100% */.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-row-video .bx-video-wrapper padding-top 0important height 100%.bx-custombx-campaign-1012255 bx-creative-1012255 .bx-wrap height auto/* KD - Change positioning to static as that was not necesaary and here you can adjust the height of the video element */.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-row-video .bx-video-wrapper video position static/* rendered styles .bx-campaign-1012255 */.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative *first-child width 100%.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative background-color transparentborder-style nonemax-width 900px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-close stroke whitebackground-color blackborder-style solidborder-color whiteborder-width 1px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-group-1012255-AFvXBOB padding 10pxdisplay blockwidth auto.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-J0EiS8Y width auto.bxc.bx-campaign-10122 55 .bx-element-1012255-J0EiS8Y *first-child padding 2px 4pxfont-size 10pxcolor rgb(255, 255, 255)text-transform uppercasebackground-color rgb(0, 0, 0)background-color rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.34)