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Never seem to be able to get enough out of your days? Well, according to New Scientist’s Short Sharp Science blog, researchers have figured out a way to keep you up for 25 hours at a time without using espresso! A new study shows that 45 minute blasts of bright light, administered late in the day, can affect a human’s circadian rhythm such that people who normally sleep 8 hours, and are up for about 16, can suddenly stretch their days out for another 9 hours or so. The research has incredible implications, not just for students, workaholics and the TV show 24, but also for when humans make the move to another planet with longer days. Of course, if you’ve managed to pull off the 4-Hour Work Week, like Tim Ferriss’s new book is suggesting, maybe you don’t need the extra time. Read more here at New Scientist.
Comments (9)
Comment
That’s very cool. But, If I adjusted my day to 25 hours, how would I make it sync up with everyone else’s 24 hour day?
I’m waiting for a way to skip sleeping one or two days a week without all of those nasty chemical dependencies or the need for catch-up hours of rest. (Yes there is Modafinil, but there has been not long-term study for this application and the FDA has been shy of approving its use for non-narcoleptics)
posted by n2y2 on 5-16-2007 at 9:20 am
This will be useful when we must work 80 hours a week to make a living.
posted by Miss Cellania on 5-16-2007 at 10:38 am
Ok, so let me get this straight… You have to be blasted with bright lights for 45 minutes to get the extra time?? When they come up with a method that doesn’t involve me getting a migraine, then maybe I’ll think it’s a viable option.
posted by greenstrawberries on 5-16-2007 at 7:37 pm
Ok, so you’re blasted with light for 45 minutes and you wind up getting a whole hour extra. Doing the math, that merely means that you get 15 minutes extra during the day. Not so helpful.
posted by Ruby on 5-17-2007 at 8:13 am
This explains the rave culture!
posted by Lucy on 5-17-2007 at 10:36 am
I’d rather have the 4 day work week myself. Can we get a bill passed in Congress? :)
posted by Sarah W on 5-17-2007 at 11:06 am
>Ok, so you’re blasted with light for 45
>minutes and you wind up getting a whole
>hour extra. Doing the math, that merely
>means that you get 15 minutes extra
>during the day. Not so helpful.
That’s *nine* hours extra. 25 waking hours as opposed to 16 waking hours.
posted by Ishmael on 5-17-2007 at 11:23 am
> That’s *nine* hours extra.
> 25 waking hours as opposed to
> 16 waking hours.
I stand corrected. My fault for not reading the original article first.
> Doing the math, that merely means that
> you get 15 minutes extra during the
> day. Not so helpful.
It makes more sense with the original purpose in mind:
> NASA had asked Czeisler’s lab to find
> ways to help astronauts adjust to life
> on Mars, where the days are about 24
> hours and 39 minutes long, or 24.65
> hours.
Mangesh, the wording you’re using here is a little confusing at best and completely wrong at worst. You said:
> researchers have figured out a way to
> keep you up for 25 hours at a time
and
> people who normally sleep 8 hours, and
> are up for about 16, can suddenly
> stretch their days out for another 9
> hours or so.
But the article says:
> Researchers estimate that the natural
> daily – circadian – body rhythm for
> humans is somewhere around 24.2 hours.
> The new experiment shows that
> 45-minute blasts of bright light late
> in the day can temporarily extend
> humans’ circadian rhythm to about 25
> hours.
Basically, this means that it puts you on a 25-hour cycle *including sleep*, so you only stay up another 40 minutes (at most).
posted by Ishmael on 5-17-2007 at 12:06 pm
Personally I am trying to figure out how to sleep MORE, not less. Since turning 50 and adding an hour-long workout to my daily routine, I find myself waking up about an hour earlier than I would like to every morning. While I admit, having the “extra time” is nice, I am not really a “morning person” and would rather be catching a few more winks of REM sleep.
posted by Diana on 5-17-2007 at 12:07 pm