Theory 77/Field programme/Shift work
Cost Is Misalignment
The claim
The metabolic cost of shift work is set by circadian misalignment rather than by total sleep loss, so shifting sleep without shifting the clock does not help.
01Mechanism
Misalignment desynchronises peripheral clocks from the central clock.
02Prediction
Cost should track misalignment.
03Refutation
Cost tracking sleep duration would remove the clock.