TED Conversations

Neil Unadkat

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

The world, living in shifts

The general philosophy of living, is to wake up in the morning, work during the day, go back home in the evening and sleep at night.
I guess this origin of this came from the fact that years (hundreds) before, there wasn't much light in the night to really do anything. So humans decided to sleep during then.
Now we have electricity. What if we reversed the concept?
Rather what I was suggesting is, why do not humans live life in a shift? So some people go along with the regular sleep at night, work at day philosophy, and the others start sleeping during the day and work at night?

What are the pros and cons?
One of the main Pro is see is this:
There are a lot of people in the world. Everyone is vying for the same resources at the same time. In this case by resources i mean, same roads, same shops,same restaurants, same internet bandwidth etc. And this usage drops drastically at night. So to make the efficient use of these resources, why not spread the usage during the whole day?

I am sure there are millions of cons to this concept.
But what do you think?

Topics: Living Structure evolution life social change
+1
Share:
progress indicator
  • thumb

    Feyisayo Anjorin 50+

    • 0
    Jan 22 2013: I work better at night; as a writer the great ideas visit me at night; but as an actor I have to be ready to work for day and night shoots.
    It depends on what one does; Most people work during the day and sleep at night, but some work at night and sleep during the day.

    • Neil Unadkat

      • 0
      Jan 22 2013: I totally agree with you, on the fact that different people work differently at different times of the day. Its been ingrained in us. There is a general view that we need to sleep at night and work during the day.

      You are a writer, actor.. Your work requires you to work at different times of the day.

      But most of the world works in a particular shift, which is generally from morning to evening. The companies where they work defines their shifts. Why don't we change this..
      Thats what I am wondering
      • thumb

        Feyisayo Anjorin 50+

        • 0
        Jan 22 2013: Most people work during the day because of sunlight; darkness makes a lot of difference just as light does. Light favours work and progress more than darkness.
        And since most people work during the daytime, it is the norm, the usual, the acceptable.
  • thumb

    W. Ying 10+

    • 0
    Jan 19 2013: No people can adapt to it without problems, according to 10,000 years ago norm ---- Our instincts.

    • Neil Unadkat

      • 0
      Jan 19 2013: Of course, the change would have its own problems..
      People adapt. There are people who already work in shifts, depending on their job requirements.
  • thumb

    Gail . 50+

    • +1
    Jan 18 2013: On the surface, it doesn't sound like a bad idea, but who gets to choose what shift you are allowed to fully participate in? I am a morning person. I love to get up around 3:00AM. That's my body's cycle. I like a nap in the afternoon. That's also part of my natural cycle. I wouldn't do well if I were forced to conform to standards that are not natural for me. Everyone around me would pay in unexpected ways, whether I wanted them to or not.

    • Neil Unadkat

      • 0
      Jan 19 2013: Well, its not that someone choses the shift for you.
      The concept of shifts does exists now. People work in shifts depending on their work requirements.
      So your shift would depend on what and where do you work. If that doesn't suit you, you can always change it right?

      The idea wasn't to make people to conform to a certain string routine, but to change the thought, that day means work, and night means rest. Let a person decide when he/she wants to rest, and when to work.
Showing all 9 comments