The Best Time to Work, Eat, Tweet and Facebook
Many of us can attest to the phrase "if only there were more hours in the day." New research suggests if you conduct your activities around your optimal time, you may be able to better perform tasks and, in turn, make better use of the time you do have.
Individuals usually organize their activities or tasks according to the time they have, rather than their body's natural rhythm. Many of these tasks can disrupt the circadian rhythms, which is linked to health conditions such as diabetes, depression, dementia and obesity.
According to Steve Kay, a professor of molecular and computational biology at the University of Southern California, when an individual has cognitive work, he or she will perform best during the late morning. As the body temperature increases, your working memory, alertness and concentration all gradually improves.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University, found people become easily distracted between 12pm and 4pm. Robert Matchock, an associate professor of psychology, found that alertness begins to decline following a meal.
In addition, Martin Moore-Ede, chairman and chief executive of Circadian, a Stoneham, Massachusetts training and consulting firm, found that, by 2pm., individuals become lethargic.
Although one many not be interested in working when he or she is drowsy, conversely feeling exhausted can enhances one's creative ability. In a study that was published in the journal Thinking and Reasoning, more than 400 students were required to solve two problems either using analytical or innovative thinking. Researchers observed innovative thinking was best at non-peak hours of the day. Mareike Wieth, the study author, believes that when the mind wanders it allows for more innovative and free thinking.
Communicating with friends through social media also has its own optimal cycles.
Researchers found Twitter users usually Tweet cheerful and positive messages during the 8 am and 9 am. To get the most retweets, researchers suggests posting between 3pm and 6pm. For Facebook, to get the most likes for a post, an individual should post around 8.pm.
For activities such as daily exercise researchers from the University of Texas, Austin found the best time to get the best results of your exercise is between 3pm to 6pm.
Lastly, the dying question," when is it a good time to eat?." According to a study in cell metabolism, researchers suggest when eating limit food intake to peak activity. This can help prevent packing on the pounds.