In July 2013 Michael Wieden, the mayor Bad Kissingen associated with researchers from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and those the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich signed a letter of intent. They are committed to promoting research in chronobiology in the city and to “bring together findings that are directly applicable to daily life, education, work, well-being, health, mobility, and sleep.” “
“The history of Bad Kissingen has always been linked to well-being and health”, explains Michael Wieden on the American site The Atlantic. If this small town has only 20,000 inhabitants, it welcomes 250,000 visitors every year attracted by the fame of this spa town with 9 private clinics and 23 sanatoria. “Health and wellness treatment is closely linked to Bad Kissingen. Therefore, Bad Kissingen is the best place in the world to start a health and wellness project. city of this magnitude, ”says the mayor.
Dr Thomas Kantermann, chronobiologist from the University of Groningen who studies the differences in the circadian rhythms of people and their sleep patterns recalls that “each individual has a specific chronotype which reveals their most suitable sleep rhythm. Unfortunately society does not allow individuals to live according to their chronotype. She asks us to be productive in the morning, but the minority of people are early risers ”.
Remove daylight saving time
If this project seems to be very complicated to set up, Bad Kissingen is committed to finding ways to take chronobiology into account in the organization of the daily life of its citizens.
Dr Thomas Kantermann has already suggested several changes.
As a first step, the city should modify its public lighting to adapt it to the sleep patterns of its inhabitants.
While it’s difficult to radically change the start time of classes to suit teens’ sleep patterns, Dr. Kantermann suggests changing schedules. ” Teenagers “programmed to get up later Would be more attentive during afternoon lessons if they spent their morning in outdoor activities, exposed to natural light. “
“But my big goal for this city is to make Bad Kissingen the first city in Germany to abolish daylight saving time, which makes you lose an hour of sleep,” he says.
“In a hypothetical future world where Bad Kissingen manages to let all of its citizens and visitors live out their chronotypes, the social benefits would be enormous. The city as a whole would be more creative, the inhabitants happier and more alert. As we will reduce the number of chronically tired people, we will also be able to decrease diseases related to lack of sleep, such as obesity, and certain mental illnesses, ”concludes Dr Thomas Kantermann.
