Staff should start at 10am to avoid "sleep deprived society"

Forcing employees to start work before 10am is tantamount to torture, according to one leading academic.

Dr Paul Kelley, of Oxford University's Sleep and Circadian Institute, has ruled that something must be done to combat the current “sleep deprived society”, which is causing an increase in stress, illness and exhaustion.

Speaking at the British Science Festival in Bradford, Kelley explained that the current 9-5 working model is not suited to anyone aged between 10 and 55, with the early mornings disrupting the natural sleep cycle. He explained: "Most people wake up to alarms, because they don't naturally wake up at the time when they have to get up and go to work.

"So we've got a sleep deprived society - it's just that this age group, say 14-24 in particular, is more deprived than any other sector. This is a huge society issue; staff should start at 10am. You don't get back to the 9am starting point until 55.”