In the Knowledge Café of the Forum Groningen on April 24 between 8 and 9:30 pm, Maaike van Veen, psychiatrist, Catrien Santing, historian, and Marijke Gordijn, chronobiologist from Chrono@Work, will discuss the topic of sleep, mood, history, and more. The discussion is led by Ruth Koops van ‘t Jagt. This Knowledge Café was created in…
The results of our study on the effects of near-infrared light (NIR) on health and well-being in people suffering from sleep loss is published today. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, the effects of three NIR light (850 nm) doses (1, 4, or 6.5 J·cm−2) were examined against the placebo. Exposure was presented five days…
Kick off meeting Healthy Living as a service in Martiniplaza. Our goal in this project is to contribute with knowledge on 24-hour rhythms and sleep. Michelle Luxwolda and Rieks Hoekman organised a presentation of Chrono@Work in a booth. The audience could indicate their sleep pattern to create a chronotype distribution in a creative way!
Chrono@Work received the good news that funding was granted for a project in the topic PCH (personalized & connected health) Ecosystem from the University Medical Center Groningen. This is a European funded project under the umbrella of SNN. In the project, Chrono@Work, supported by the University of Groningen, will develop a mobile application to use…
In November, we started with recruiting new participants for the study on the effects of near-infrared light. Purpose was to include 20 more subjects in winter. The task was to include them all within 3 weeks to be ready before Christmas. And yes! We are happy to announce that we managed to find 20 enthusiastic…
Last week, I was asked several times to talk again about the role of the biological clock for our health and the detrimental effects of Daylight Saving time. It is all about healthy sleep and the right light at the right time. Prevention of sleep problems is the most important thing. But if you suffer…
Can we bring in a bit of sunshine? After 2 successful rounds of the Light Study last summer and winter, we have decided to extend the study into near-infrared light one more time to the coming winter period. This is the first-ever long-term study into the effects of pulsed near-infrared (NIR) light on human well-being…
Marijke Gordijn is invited for several public events (in Dutch) on the topic of Daylight saving time. The first one will be an interview organised by Studium Generale Utrecht in collaboration with Tivoli/Vredenburg. On October 28th, at 8:15 pm on the stage of Tivoli-Vredenburg in Utrecht, Marijke will talk about the role of the biological…
Normally we promote to sleep at night and be awake during the day. However, Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work accepted the invitation to be one of the two guests in the night program De Slapelozen on Dutch radio on early Thursday morning August 12th 2021, between 2 and 4 am. The reason why is that during…
On January 8th, Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work and Roelof Hut from the University of Groningen were interviewed by EditieNL about the effects of the COVID-19 related restrictions on sleep. Colleagues recently published that on average people sleep longer and later during the lockdown. However, shortage of sleep and sleeping problems have serious health effects. EditieNL…
In the early morning of December 26th, Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work gave an interview on NPO Radio 1 about the role of light for well being and health. This item is especially interesting in the dark winter days around Christmas in our region. The focus of the interview was on the new study we do…
Can we bring in a bit of sunshine? After 2 successful rounds of the Light Study last summer and winter, we have decided to extend the study into near-infrared light one more time to the coming winter period. This is the first-ever long-term study into the effects of pulsed near-infrared (NIR) light on human well-being…
Chrono@Work has received a VIA grant from the European Regional Development Fund (EFRO) for support with the development of a new consumer service, namely individual coaching and advice on sleep-wake rhythm disturbances. The grant is for hiring expert Maureen van Veelen from Next Phase Management and Advice, who will help C@W to set up this…
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a serious health threat to the world population. In response, governments are implementing a variety of new policies including self-quarantine, self-isolation and social distancing. While medically necessary to limit spread, these new social policies can disrupt many of the stabilizing factors in our lives which support mental health. In close collaboration,…
The policies to limit spreading of COVID-19 is ‘stay home’ and ‘work from home’. The consequence is that most people see very little daylight. While it is very important to stay home as much as possible and keep ‘social distance’ all the time, in the Netherlands it is not forbidden to go outside. The Dutch…
Chrono@Work will be present at several symposia, classes and congresses in the upcoming period. Please have a look and subscribe if you are interested in the topic. 16th April 20:00h in Leeuwarden: Studium Generale Het Einde van de Zomertijd en Dan? 18th April whole day in Zeist: Medilex symposium on ‘Slaapproblemen en -stoornissen bij mensen met…
Chrono@Work published a paper on the role of the biological clock in safety and health in the Dutch journal for health and safety officers: Safety! magazine. In this paper, we explain why we perform so badly during the night and how we can keep our biological clock in synch with the natural rhythm of light…
On November 7th, NTR presented a documentary FOCUS on the health risks of working at night and discusses possible solutions. In accordance with the reports of the Dutch Health Council 2015 and 2017, the most important point is to avoid working at night as much as possible. Roelof Hut from the University of Groningen and…
Last weekend Daylight saving time 2018 ended and Europe went back to Central European Time. In a short movie commissioned by the University of Groningen, Marijke Gordijn explained once more why for us, in the Netherlands, the current time we have in winter is the most optimal choice. In fact, The Netherlands should even be…
Linda Geddes, journalist in the UK, published an article in the Guardian titled “No more snooze button: a complete guide to waking up feeling fantastic“. “Now the clocks have gone back and the days are getting shorter, it can be hard to get out of bed. But, from dawn simulators to a regular wakeup time,…
In August, the European Union voted to abolish the bi-annual change in clock time. `Whether the continent will be in constant ‘wintertime’ or ‘summertime’ remains to be decided and this imposes a lot of debate in the various countries of the European Union. Chrono@Work is actively involved in international and national discussion. International and Dutch…
On May 17th, Pauline Bollen and Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work organized an interactive workshop for a group of 15 social workers of academic institutes in the Netherlands. The assignment was clear: inform us on possible sleep problems we may encounter in our office and how to proceed if we recognize some. The 3h-workshop consisted of…
Chrono@Work B.V. Groningen is the first company this year to receive a grant of € 25,000 of SNN. The innovation grant for the Groningen company is intended for research into the feasibility of a sensor system that teaches poor sleepers to sleep according to their biological clock. Read more on the site of SNN. With…
In the Dutch Television program ‘Dokters van Morgen‘ on October 17th, Antoinette Herzenberg pays attention to the importance of a healthy sleep. As part of the program, five volunteers went camping during one weekend. Chrono@Work supported the program with scientific input and the analysis of light exposure, rest-activity rhythms and melatonin patterns. Following up on…
Wams, E.J., Woelders, T., Marring, I., Van Rosmalen L., Beersma, D.G.M., Gordijn, M.C.M. & Hut R.A. Linking light exposure and subsequent sleep: a field EEG study in humans. SLEEP 40 (12): zsx165 (2017)
https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsx165
The Dutch media are highly interested in the new teaching package Charge Your Brainzzz. Please read the item “50% of the adolescents do not sleep enough…but in this way you will get them in bed” (in Dutch) that RTL published online on September 27th.
After a year of hard work we are there! The teaching materials for the package Charge Your Brainzzz are ready. Charge your Brains teaches highschool students about sleep. On 27 September, Chrono@Work and the Dutch Brain Foundation will launch this special educational package. Charge Your Brainzzz is a modern package with activating learning tools including…
Van der Heijden, K.B., Vermeulen M.C.M., Donjacour, C., Gordijn M., Hamburger, H., Meijer, A.M., Van Rijn, K. Chronic sleep reduction predicts academic achievement and study concentration in higher education students. J. Sleep Res. 2017
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsr.12596/abstract
Wednesday September 27th, Chrono@Work and the Brain Foundation will launch the new teaching material Charge Your Brainzzz in the Corpus Congress Centre in Leiden. Charge Your Brainzzz consists of a package of three lessons about sleep regulation and sleep disorders, with activating learning tools, animations (to be used during class) and a serious game developed…
In continuation of SLAAP2016, the second Dutch Sleep Congress will be organized again this year under the umbrella of the Dutch Society for Sleep-Wake research (NSWO) and the Sleep Medicine Association Netherlands (SVNL) in the Heerlickheijd in Ermelo. SLAAP 2017 is a unique collaboration between the various disciplines who work in the field of Sleep, such…
On May 16, Chrono @ Work organizes 2 workshops for Ambulance Care Netherlands in the Rijtuigenloods in Amersfoort. These workshops are part of the program ‘Sustainable employability: Optimal on the go!’ Both workshops are fully booked. During the workshop attention is given to the care for the ambulance workers themselves. How to deal with the…
Woelders T., Beersma D.G.M., Gordijn M.C.M., Hut R.A. & Wams E.J. Daily light exposure patterns reveal phase and period of the human circadian clock. J. Biol. Rhythms 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0748730417696787
Bruinenberg, V.M., Gordijn, M.C.M., MacDonald, A., Van Spronsen, F.J., Van der Zee, E. Sleep disturbances in Phenylketonuria: an explorative study in men and mice. Frontiers in Neurology, section Sleep and Chronobiology. vol. 8:167 (2017).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5405067/
Gordijn M.C.M. Slapen als onderdeel van een gezonde leefstijl. In: “Gestoorde slaap: een onschuldig probleem?” Lancel M., Koenraadt F. en ‘t Lam K. (eds). Wolf Legal Publishers. pp 13-28. (2016).
Chronotherapeutic interventions Marijke Gordijn of Chrono@Work co-authored a Dutch paper on Chronotherapeutic interventions in Psychiatry. She wrote this paper together with 3 colleagues with whom she also started Chronotherapy Network Netherlands (www.cnn.nl). The paper was published in the continuing education journal Psyfar. Since 2006, Psyfar focusses on educating and testing psychiatrists, hospital pharmacists, geriatrics specialists,…
Meesters Y., Gordijn, M.C.M., Spaans H.P., Verwijk E. Chronotherapeutische interventies. Psyfar 11(4): 18-25. (2016).
Chrono@Work’s employee Marina Giménez is the first author of a paper describing a study on the effects of a new dynamic room lighting system on sleep of patients admitted to a cardiology ward. Irregular 24 h light/dark cycles with night-time light exposure and a low amplitude are disruptive for sleep, mood and circadian rhythms. Nevertheless,…
According to the European directives, Daylight Saving time ends in the last weekend of October. Most European countries follow this directive, which means that this year on October 30 the clock will be shifted back one hour (change from 3 am to 2 am). For us this means an extra hour on the night of…
On September 12 several media reported that according to a TNS Nipo survey among 3,400 Dutch, that one out of six workers has sleeping problems. In a radio interview with Radio North on September 12 at 13: 40h Marijke Gordijn CEO of Chrono@Work explained what the risks are of sleep deprivation (http://radio.rtvnoord.nl/ipad/index.asp?actie=radiogemist). We should distinguish…
LIght therapy to shift the biological clock has been shown to be effective, but in most cases studies are carried out in well controlled laboratory studies and with long duration light pulses. In practice, light therapy should consist of an easy to apply lighting regime to which people at home will adhere and with clear…
On July 19th at 17: 15h Marijke Gordijn CEO of Chrono@Work was interviewed by Morad & Shay for the local youth radio station Funx. Following up on a British study from 2015 that discussed the optimal bed-times, times of getting up and working times for young and elderly people. Professor Kelley and colleagues published an…
Chrono@Work wrote an informative article in the journal of “Longkruid” of the Dutch Society for Pulmonary Function Analysts. Breathing and sleep are two essential elements of our daily life that, if everything is working correctly, we barely notice. But if something goes wrong, it has a great impact on our daily lives, our work and…
Light pulses of 30 min. in the morning on three consecutive days, in a home setting, in combination with dim light during the evenings, can be part of an efficient phase advancing chronotherapy protocol to shift the biological clock. It is well known from controlled laboratory experiments, that light in the morninge induces phase shifts of the biological…
NRC next fact check, examines whether the NRC report in the Algemeen Dagblad of 9 May over Duch being campions at sleeping long is correct. The conclusion was drawn on the basis of an article in Science Advances which made use of data from the worldwide used sleepapp. NRC Next consulted among others, Chrono@Work on this…
Light is an important environmental stimulus for the entrainment of the circadian clock and for increasing alertness. The intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells in the retina play an important role in transferring this light information to the circadian system and they are elicited in particular by short-wavelength light. Exposure to short wavelengths is reduced, for instance, in elderly…
