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Category: Project

Description: Pre-registration. Our sleep-wake rhythm is primarily determined by how our society is designed. Generally, most years of our lives our wake-up time is determined by school or work. However, this might change once one transitions into retirement, where one acquires more ownership of their own wake-up time. This study examines the influence of employment status on the genetic influences on chronotype, which refers to a person's genetical predisposition for a preference for being more active in the morning or evening. By using polygenic scores, we aim to model the change in genetic influences on chronotype before and after retirement. We hypothesize that the genetic influence on chronotype is lower among employed individuals compared to retirees. This study enhances our understanding of how work schedules impact chronotype, shedding light on the gene-environment interplay within the circadian rhythm.