Jet lag social, cronotipos e direito à saúde: uma análise à luz da teoria dos direitos fundamentais

Abstract

Chronobiology shows that the persistent misalignment between the biological clock, the chronotype, and social schedules is associated with social jet lag — a phenomenon linked to harms to health and psychosocial well-being. In Brazilian law, this determinant dimension of health is almost invisible, which justifies a legal-constitutional analysis. This work aimed to investigate whether, and to what extent, the systematic mismatch between the biological clock and the social organization of time, can be understood as a legally relevant restriction on the fundamental right to health, especially for individuals with late chronotypes, in light of Alexy’s Theory of Fundamental Rights (2024). Methodologically, the study combined theoretical-dogmatic analysis and empirical investigation. In the first part, the content of the right to health was reconstructed based on the fundamental rights theory, highlighting the broad factual substrate, the state’s duties of protection and organization, and the proportionality maxim as a standard for assessing restrictions. Next, the interdisciplinary literature on chronotypes and social jet lag was systematized. In the empirical stage, a self-administered online survey was conducted with a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 303 respondents. The instrument, titled “Chronotype Questionnaire,” was based on the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ) and gathered sociodemographic data, sleep habits, self-assessed chronotype, and questions on psychological well-being, everyday functioning, and experiences of stigmatization. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear trend lines. The results indicated moderate to strong associations between eveningness, higher social jet lag, and shorter average sleep duration. On average, all chronotypes slept less than eight hours, suggesting a generalized scenario of suboptimal sleep duration, with a heavier burden on later chronotypes. Although no robust linear associations were observed between chronotype and severe depressive or anxious symptoms, late chronotypes reported more difficulties in routine activities, a higher frequency of tardiness due to oversleeping, and a greater likelihood of cancelling physical exercise because of tiredness. The survey also revealed a strong association between late chronotypes and comments that link habits or performance to “laziness,” “carelessness,” or “disorganization”. Earlier chronotypes were more often associated with “diligence,” “care,” or “discipline”, which suggests that chronotype operates as a social marker of perceived competence and supports the hypothesis of stigmatization of evening profiles. In light of the theoretical framework adopted, the study concluded that disregarding social jet lag and the diversity of chronotypes in human populations can be characterized as a relevant restriction on the fundamental right to health, whose burdens fall disproportionately on individuals with late chronotypes. This entails a state duty to consider chronobiological diversity in the formulation of public policies and in the organization of social schedules, especially with respect to competitive civil service examinations and college entrance exams, school start times, and working hours, including incentives for chronoworking arrangements, policies which, if adopted, would constitute true social innovations. In this sense, to secure the optimized protection of the right to health, such measures, if unfeasible, require rational justification by the State, grounded in the proportionality maxim.