Daylight savings time … I don’t know about you but it is so hard on me. Today I will be tired all day and probably for the week. I know from the past experience that I will not be able to concentrate as well. I will be ready for sleep an hour past what the clock says and will have a harder time waking up for about a week. I was really enjoying the morning sun this past week and today I woke and it was dark. Complaining? Well, maybe a little, how good can this be for my health?

On the way to work this morning, I heard a radio announcer talking about this very thing. He said that the day after changing the clock that there is increased heart attacks, increased automobile accidents, higher stress levels, and increased blood pressure. I decided to research it for myself.

Believe or not there is actually a name for this syndrome. According to timeanddate.com, when the clock time changes it does not cause extra daylight but it does shift the time that the sun rises and sets. The disruptions that it causes to our body clock is known as circadian rhythm. For some people setting your clock ahead is just a minor pain in the tush, losing that hour of sleep for others can have unfavorable effects.

More than 1.5 billion men and woman are forced to play with the clock in the spring and fall. This does mess up your chronobiologic rhythms and really influence quality sleep lasting for several days. According to the New England Journal of Medicine and a study done in Sweden, Myocardial Infarction, also known as a heart attack, increased in the first 3 days after moving the clocks. Because people are sleep deprived there is an increase in traffic accidents. Americans are chronically deprived of sleep and this extra loss of sleep just adds to it. After the clocks are turned, according to the study lasts, the effect of the loss lasts for up to 5 days. The loss leads to an increased number if “microsleeps” or lack of focus which may lead to the cause of accidents.

Another interesting fact about Daylight Savings Time is that on that Monday after there are more workplace injuries and more severe accidents than on other Mondays in the year. Daylight Savings Time has also been linked to miscarriages for in vitro patients. For some when you lose an hour of sleep, it can trigger mental illness such as bipolar disorder and SAD (seasonal affective disorder or winter depression). A Danish study determined that depression increased by 11% and an Australian study showed that male suicide increased after turning the clocks ahead in the spring. The good news is that after about 10 weeks these disorders tend to dissipate.

As a nutritional therapist, I am always saying how important sleep is to weight loss. Studies have shown that getting between 6–9 hours of sleep is optimal for weight loss and better health. When you sleep be careful of light pollution. People sleep best in a dark room without light even a computer light can disturb sleep and please stay away from the cell phone for about 2 hours before bedtime. Your brain needs to calm down.

There are some things that can help you get through the Daylight Savings Blues. Being tired disrupts productivity at your job, messes with your concentration and your overall well-being. It has been said that sunshine will help your body adjust to the new time so go for a walk. It is so good for your health to get a bit of sunshine it will help your body produce vitamin C.The exercise is great for your body and mind. If you are the kind of person who wakes up hungry, eat a good breakfast this tells your body it is time to wake up. Go to bed a bit earlier to help your body adjust to the new schedule and wake up a bit earlier. This gradualness helps your body adjust to the new time.

So Mr. Radio Announcer, this morning you made me laugh but now I believe what you said is true. Thank you for the insight.

Resources

https://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/daylight-saving-health.html

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc0807104