How Daylight Saving Time Affects Your Health

In the next few weeks, you may wake up late for work or drop your kids off at school after it has already started. That’s because on Sunday, March 8, we switch from Eastern Standard Time to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and turn our clocks ahead an hour.

While minor scheduling chaos isn’t terrible, the springtime change can also negatively affect our health – with consequences such as an increased risk for heart attack. These can most always be traced back to our biological rhythms.

According to research, daylight saving time is not aligned with our biology. Delays in the natural light-dark cycle can result in “circadian misalignment.”

“Our circadian rhythm is our body’s own internal 24-hour clock,” says Mark Scheuerman, MD, a family medicine clinician with LVPG Family Medicine–Hecktown Oaks. “It forces a change that goes against this internal rhythm and can lead to cumulative sleep loss and sleep fragmentation across the following week.”

It’s because sunlight is the signal our brain uses to sync this internal clock. Lower light in the evening triggers the release of melatonin, which makes us feel sleepy. In the morning, increased light stops melatonin production. When we turn the clocks ahead in the spring – extending light into the evening – melatonin production is thrown off, making it harder to fall asleep. Dark mornings mean we get up before we’re fully awake. 
 

If you typically get plenty of sleep and have no risk for heart disease, the time change won’t likely affect you. However, if you are chronically sleep-deprived or already at high risk for heart disease, this increased “sleep debt” can have serious consequences.

According to studies, there is a 5.7 percent increase in workplace injuries the Monday after daylight saving time starts. Also, the number of heart attacks rises by about 5 percent in the first few days after the clock change. The strongest evidence relates to pushing the clocks forward in spring (rather than back in the fall), robbing us of that hour of precious sleep.

There are other consequences as well.

“Sleep loss activates the part of the nervous system that deals with stress, and this increases blood pressure and inflammation,” says pulmonologist Richard Strobel, MD, with LVPG Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. “Over a prolonged period, sleep loss can lead to high blood pressure, weight gain, depression, mood disorders and other health problems.”
 

If you want to try to breeze through EDT without serious side effects, here are some tips:

• A week before: Shift your sleep schedule four to seven days before the clock change. “Go to bed and wake 15 to 30 minutes earlier than usual,” Dr. Strobel says. That way the clock change won’t be as significant a shock to your system.
• The night before: Stay away from alcohol, especially before bed. It can disrupt the process and keep you from getting a good night’s sleep.
• The first few days after: Drink plenty of water and reach for wholesome, high-fiber foods. Avoiding sodas and syrupy coffees can help your body deal with “sleep lag.”
• For the rest of the year: Prioritize sleep, aiming for seven to nine hours every night. Dr. Scheuerman says, “Practice good sleep hygiene, meaning dial back the screens right before bed and keep your bedroom dark.”
• Get plenty of exercise: There is nothing like good old fatigue to help you sleep. At least 150 minutes of fairly intense exercise each week is recommended (with your clinician’s OK).