Work, school or study. For many people, the day begins with the alarm clock! We are still tired. But why can’t we just go to bed earlier in the evening, even though we’ve made up our minds to do so? Late risers have a hard time and also a bad reputation. Young people in particular are considered lazy and unwilling because they can’t get out of bed in the morning. But that is simply wrong. For most people, our society is too early. It doesn’t match our “internal clock,” which determines when we can sleep.

For thousands of years, we humans have lived in harmony with our “internal clock”. That is hardly possible in the modern world. Many of us lead lives that are out of sync with our natural rhythm. We suffer from chronic lack of sleep with fatal consequences for our health. Sleep disorders, depression, diabetes and even dementia are, among other things, related to a disruption in our internal clock.

If we understand what makes us tick, we can live better and healthier lives – and we can better treat illnesses.

Director: Sabine Kallwitz-Geißler
Script: Sabine Kallwitz-Geißler, Andrea Ufer
Camera: René Kirschey, Ralf Ilgenfritz, Theodoros Koutsoulis
Editing: Ingo Grigoleit
Sound: Matthias Kreitschmann, Moritz Bauer
Production lead: Bernd Schwarzer, MDR
Production: Andrea Ufer
Editorial Staff: Pit Lehmann, MDR; Achim Schöbel, MDR