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0:00 · The valley
It's midnight in the Muggio valley and nobody passes by any more. On the calendar, the day ends here.
Midnight in the Muggio valley. The date changes on the calendar, and the road empties.
Watch this passage (0:00) →Episode 00:00 Online
The edge of the day
Online · version of 03.10.2026 · on our channels on 16.11.2026
The 24 Hours
For the body, it is already the middle of the night. If you have to drive, sleep first.
At midnight the date changes. The body does not know it: it runs on a clock of its own, whose cycle lasts twenty-four hours and eleven minutes with no outside cues. Eleven minutes of drift a day, which morning light puts right. Anyone driving at this hour is not starting a day: they are inside their body's night, and nothing on the dashboard shows it.
In the video
- 0:00The valley
0:09The clock
0:17Twenty-four and eleven
0:25The morning
0:34The dashboard
0:43The message
Details 56 s · 9:16 · four languages · generated images, voice and music, declared as such · 2026-10-03 · Drive Awake
What helps
If the night departure cannot be avoided, what works is sleep taken before, not sleep postponed. On the way back, morning light resets the body clock and helps the rhythm settle (Khalsa and colleagues 2003). Nothing on the dashboard shows the body's own hour: it is worked out before setting off.
The video explained
5 scenes, with notes and sources
0:09 · The clock
But not for the body. It has its own clock, and it doesn't run to exactly twenty-four hours.
The body does not follow the calendar. It follows an internal clock that does not match the twenty-four hours of civil time.
Watch this passage (0:09) →0:17 · Twenty-four and eleven
Without any outside cues, that clock runs for an average of twenty-four hours and eleven minutes.
Czeisler and colleagues measured the internal period under controlled lighting: on average 24.18 hours, that is twenty-four hours and eleven minutes, the same in young and older adults.
Czeisler et al. 1999 · Science · DOI 10.1126/science.284.5423.2177
Watch this passage (0:17) →
0:25 · The morning
Eleven minutes a day is more than an hour a week. Morning light resets the clock.
The gap would build up week after week. Morning light is the signal that puts the clock back in step with the day.
Watch this passage (0:25) →
0:34 · The dashboard
By midnight, that clock is already heading towards its lowest point. The dashboard doesn't show it.
By midnight the descent towards the low point has already begun. No instrument in the car shows it.
Watch this passage (0:34) →The text, in all four languages
6 lines
The same lines you see in the video, side by side. This is where the gaps between languages show: a turn of phrase that does not hold, a word out of place, a figure that changes weight. If you find one, the button next to the line opens the report with hour, language and minute already filled in. All episodes on one page →
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line 1 0:01
IT
È mezzanotte. In Valle di Muggio non passa più nessuno. Sul calendario il giorno finisce qui.
FR
Il est minuit. Dans la vallée de Muggio, plus personne ne passe. Sur le calendrier, le jour s'arrête ici.
DE
Mitternacht. Im Muggiotal kommt niemand mehr vorbei. Laut Kalender endet der Tag hier.
EN
It's midnight in the Muggio valley and nobody passes by any more. On the calendar, the day ends here.
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line 2 0:09
IT
Per il corpo no. Il corpo ha un orologio suo, e non segna ventiquattro ore esatte.
FR
Pas pour le corps. Le corps a son horloge, et elle ne fait pas exactement vingt-quatre heures.
DE
Für den Körper nicht. Der Körper hat seine eigene Uhr, und ihr Tag dauert nicht genau vierundzwanzig Stunden.
EN
But not for the body. It has its own clock, and it doesn't run to exactly twenty-four hours.
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line 3 0:17
IT
Senza segnali dall'esterno, il giro di quell'orologio dura in media ventiquattro ore e undici minuti.
FR
Sans repères extérieurs, le cycle de cette horloge dure en moyenne vingt-quatre heures et onze minutes.
DE
Ohne äussere Zeitgeber dauert dieser Zyklus im Mittel vierundzwanzig Stunden und elf Minuten.
EN
Without any outside cues, that clock runs for an average of twenty-four hours and eleven minutes.
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line 4 0:26
IT
Undici minuti al giorno fanno più di un'ora alla settimana. La luce del mattino rimette a posto l'orologio.
FR
Onze minutes par jour font plus d'une heure par semaine. La lumière du matin remet l'horloge à l'heure.
DE
Elf Minuten am Tag sind mehr als eine Stunde pro Woche. Das Morgenlicht stellt die Uhr richtig.
EN
Eleven minutes a day is more than an hour a week. Morning light resets the clock.
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line 5 0:34
IT
A mezzanotte quell'orologio sta già scendendo verso il suo punto più basso. Il cruscotto non lo dice.
FR
À minuit, cette horloge amorce déjà sa descente vers son minimum. Le tableau de bord ne le dit pas.
DE
Um Mitternacht ist diese Uhr schon auf dem Weg zu ihrem tiefsten Punkt. Das Armaturenbrett zeigt es nicht an.
EN
By midnight, that clock is already heading towards its lowest point. The dashboard doesn't show it.
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line 6 0:43
IT
Per il corpo è già notte fonda. Se devi guidare, dormi prima.
FR
Pour le corps, c'est déjà le cœur de la nuit. Si tu dois conduire, dors d'abord.
DE
Im Körper ist längst tiefe Nacht. Musst du fahren, schlaf vorher.
EN
For the body, it is already the middle of the night. If you have to drive, sleep first.
Transcript
- 0:02 It's midnight in the Muggio valley and nobody passes by any more. On the calendar, the day ends here.
- 0:10 But not for the body. It has its own clock, and it doesn't run to exactly twenty-four hours.
- 0:18 Without any outside cues, that clock runs for an average of twenty-four hours and eleven minutes.
- 0:27 Eleven minutes a day is more than an hour a week. Morning light resets the clock.
- 0:35 By midnight, that clock is already heading towards its lowest point. The dashboard doesn't show it.
- 0:44 For the body, it is already the middle of the night. If you have to drive, sleep first.
A question about this hour · 00:00
If you are planning to drive at midnight, what helps you decide whether to set off?
There is no right answer: we are interested in the experience of people who drive, including for work.
The conversations happen on our channels. When there is one about this hour, we will link to it here.
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Online · always open to reports
This episode is online. If something feels off, a word, a figure, a detail in the image, tell us below: two lines are enough. We read everything, and every correction goes into the diary, with its date.
Tell us what you noticed
We read every message. If it becomes a correction, the text changes here on the site and goes into the episode's diary, with its date and its reason. Corrections already made →
Sources
- Czeisler CA, Duffy JF, Shanahan TL, et al. Stability, precision, and near-24-hour period of the human circadian pacemaker. Science 1999;284:2177-2181. DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5423.2177 laboratory
- Khalsa SB, Jewett ME, Cajochen C, Czeisler CA. A phase response curve to single bright light pulses in human subjects. J Physiol 2003;549(3):945-952. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2003.040477 laboratory
2026-10-03 · Drive Awake