(Photo: reynermedia)
Is your boss telling you to do actual work before 10 AM? If so, he's effectively torturing you by forcing you to work outside of your natural circadian rhythms. That's the conclusion of Dr. Paul Kelley of Oxford University, an expert on sleep. The National Post quotes him:
“This applies in the bigger picture to prisons and hospitals,” he added. “They wake up people and give people food they don’t want. You’re more biddable because you’re totally out of it. Sleep deprivation is a torture.” […]
Lack of sleep has been found to affect performance, attention and long-term memory and to encourage drug and alcohol use. It also leads to anxiety, frustration, anger, impulsive behaviour, weight gain, high blood pressure, lower immunity, stress and mental health conditions.
-via Dave Barry
Anyway, this isn't reference to a particular study it seems, although the person they name has direct experience running a school, and did write a review paper on the topic not too long ago.
Exactly why this study is a bunch of hooey. There's no link to the study, but he seems to claim that his findings affect everyone equally.