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Daylight saving time: 4 surprising health effects of 'falling back'

  

Category:  Health, Science & Technology

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  6 years ago  •  42 comments

Daylight saving time: 4 surprising health effects of 'falling back'
It turns out daylight saving time shifts are linked to changes in our health, diet and may even make us more accident prone. Here are some tips to adjust.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



By   Julianne Pepitone

Twice a year, switching between daylight saving time and standard time   throws us off   our usual routine. We might expect to feel a bit sleepy or maybe even a little “off.” But springing forward or falling back an hour can have other surprising effects: It’s linked to changes in our health, diet and even tendency to get into an accident.

“Sleep is a kind of outward symbol of the timing processes of our body,” explained Chris Winter, M.D., author of “The Sleep Solution” and president of the Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine clinic in Virginia. “Our bodies function on an internal schedule, from hormone release to body temperature to cognition – and sleep is linked to them all.”

appetite


Blame this one on the hormones. “Appetite in general is often not the body requesting food; it’s the body anticipating food,” Dr. Winter explained. “When your body knows you eat lunch around 12:30 p.m. or so every day, it anticipates and prepares for the meal.”

Your body receives those signals from hormones, like ghrelin, which increases our cravings so we’re motivated to eat, and leptin, which affects feelings of satiety. “These two hormones are intimately associated with sleep, which is part of why when we’re not sleeping well, we tend to overeat,” Dr. Winter said. “It’s a tight hormonal balance and daylight-saving shifts can absolutely throw it off.”

accidents


Speaking of being thrown off, you may find daylight saving time shifts make you feel mentally fuzzy or slow. Sleep disruptions can conversely affect cognitive performance.

Back in 1999, Johns Hopkins and Stanford University researchers   published a comprehensive study   that analyzed 21 years’ worth of fatal car crash data. They found a small but notable increase in car crash deaths on the Monday after the switch to daylight saving time in the spring: 83.5 deaths, compared with 78.2 deaths on the average Monday.

And studies of workplace-specific accidents have uncovered similar links.   Research published in 2009   showed the Monday after switching to daylight saving time saw a 5.7 percent jump in workplace injuries, and nearly 68 percent more workdays lost to injuries, meaning they were more severe. These conclusions were reached by analyzing U.S. Department of Labor and Mine Safety and Health Administration injury data from 1983 to 2006.

mood


Here again, disruptions in our normal sleep schedule can throw off hormonal balances. Lack of proper sleep can exacerbate depressive feelings, anxiety, irritability, and mental exhaustion.

Studies show even partial sleep deprivation can have a   negative effect on mood , and as Dr. Winter pointed out, this effect can snowball: When you feel stressed and anxious thanks to lack of sleep from the previous night, it’s hard to settle down for that night’s rest, too.

If you have teens in the house, take special note: “The effects of [daylight saving time] can have more impact on adolescents,” said André U. Aguillon, M.D., assistant professor at the University of Toledo’s medical school and program director of the university’s Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program. “Not only do they require more sleep than adults, but their habitual sleep-wake timing is typically delayed.”

the spring forward has links to heart attack and certain strokes


“The heart has a pretty significant circadian rhythm,” said Winter, who has studied brain-blood flow during sleep. “We tend to see that disrupted sleep may make people more vulnerable when we wake up – not causing a heart attack but perhaps exacerbating underlying conditions.”

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Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.    6 years ago

So true facts:

Was watching TV with the hubby, we both passed out on the couch. 

Woke up looked at the cable box and saw it was 2:47. I say to Matt, wow good thing it's we fall back tonight.... then Bam! It hits us. The cable box auto resets and it was really 3:47 DST. That was some nap on the couch. 

 
 
 
Uptownchick
Junior Silent
1.1  Uptownchick  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @1    6 years ago

LOL...sounds about right! I don't adjust well to either of these changes, especially the older I get. 

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jrSmiley_91_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
1.1.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Uptownchick @1.1    6 years ago

LMAO... good one Uppy!

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
2  Kavika     6 years ago

6230c5930ecdc4f3c374725e9a80b061.jpg

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
2.2  Skrekk  replied to  Kavika @2    6 years ago

I like that quote a lot.   It especially makes sense for people who measure the day by how long the sun is above the horizon rather than by some arbitrary external measure.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
2.2.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Skrekk @2.2    6 years ago

Ditto. 

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3  charger 383    6 years ago

I would like it better if clocks were turned other way so we would have longer light in the evenings

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
3.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  charger 383 @3    6 years ago

I find the fall back very jarring and depressing. The day is suddenly gone by 5 pm and the little daylight we have in the morn, is little compensation. 

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
3.1.1  Skrekk  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @3.1    6 years ago

I love the fall back but not the spring forward.

 
 
 
Freefaller
Professor Quiet
3.1.2  Freefaller  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @3.1    6 years ago
The day is suddenly gone by 5 pm and the little daylight we have in the morn, is little compensation. 

Lol try living in the north, the day has been gone by 5pm for about a month now and this fall back just means it won't be completely dark again in the morning for another couple weeks.

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
3.1.3  sandy-2021492  replied to  Skrekk @3.1.1    6 years ago
I love the fall back but not the spring forward.

I love it in the morning, but this evening, when I'll need my headlights to drive home from work, I'll hate it.

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
4  dave-2693993    6 years ago

Not a fan of DST. My body clock never adjusts.

Glad the time is back to normal.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
4.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  dave-2693993 @4    6 years ago
Not a fan of DST. My body clock never adjusts.

That is a very common issue and as we get older it does become harder to adjust. As you can see, I am quite on the fence about this whole thing. 

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
4.1.1  arkpdx  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @4.1    6 years ago
That is a very common issue and as we get older it does become harder to adjust

So that is something I have to look forward to happen to me in the future huh? (he said while have a shit eating grin innocent look on his face and his tongue firmly placed in his cheek) 

jrSmiley_7_smiley_image.png  

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
4.1.2  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  arkpdx @4.1.1    6 years ago

I really hate you spring chickens! 

I'm only 58. I am not quite dead yet. But each year it does take more time to get used to it.. worse in the spring though I need that extra hour. 

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
4.1.3  arkpdx  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @4.1.2    6 years ago

I just turned 65 but I am about 21 in my head .

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
4.1.4  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  arkpdx @4.1.3    6 years ago

That's a good way to be. I think I may be 30 in my head.

 
 
 
zuksam
Junior Silent
5  zuksam    6 years ago

It doesn't bother me at all. I worked 3rd shift for years and used to switch every weekend to sleeping nights so a one hour change one way or the other is nothing to me.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
5.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  zuksam @5    6 years ago

That is how my dad used to feel when he worked the graveyard shift. He never even noticed the change. 

 
 
 
tomwcraig
Junior Silent
6  tomwcraig    6 years ago

The cause of Daylight Savings Time is really no longer relevant.  We operate businesses 24/7 today, not just 9 to 5 on weekdays.  Farms operate 24/7 as well, particularly on large dairy operations.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
6.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  tomwcraig @6    6 years ago

Tom,

That is very much true (with the exception of small farms). 

 
 
 
tomwcraig
Junior Silent
6.1.1  tomwcraig  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @6.1    6 years ago

That depends on the size of the small farm and what time of year it is.  I can tell you from experience out here in Oregon with tractors and combines having many lights on them, they are usually operating in the seed farms (Linn County is the grass seed capital of the world) until midnight at times during the harvest.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
6.1.2  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  tomwcraig @6.1.1    6 years ago

I live on Long Island and we must be in the stone age. The local farms are still family run and they rise early and end with the sun down, including the vineyards. The chicken farms day is over by 10 in the summer.  

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
7  Ender    6 years ago

It is a stupid tradition that is not necessary.

I can't stand it getting dark at 5 pm.

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
7.1  JBB  replied to  Ender @7    6 years ago

Considering DST was created so fieldhands would not have to start work in the dark you might have a good point. Still, I think it does make some sense as a consideration for workers who have to be in early. Start times are not as cruely early as they used to be for most people. 6 and 7 AM usted to be normal start times for businesses. Things change. Staying on standard time all the time would not effect me except for not having to figure out how to reset all the clocks. I can never remember how to reset my cars. Thankfully more things update automatically...

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
7.1.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  JBB @7.1    6 years ago
Thankfully more things update automatically...

Like our DVR which lead to our confusion, LOL. 

 
 
 
321steve - realistically thinkin or Duu
Sophomore Participates
7.1.2  321steve - realistically thinkin or Duu   replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @7.1.1    6 years ago
Thankfully more things update automatically...
Like our DVR which lead to our confusion, LOL. 

LOL.. I live in Phoenix, here we don't change times. But, I have a cheep battery wall clock that does. So twice a year if I'm not aware of it I'll look at the clock and be an hour off til I realize WTF is going on. 

damn this confusing cheap self adjusting aggravating frickin clock. lol

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
7.2  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Ender @7    6 years ago

Yeah, it is kind of depressing.

 
 
 
KDMichigan
Junior Participates
8  KDMichigan    6 years ago

My biggest bitch about DST is my critters s don't follow a clock. So my animals wake me up at 3 am instead of 4.

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
8.1  dave-2693993  replied to  KDMichigan @8    6 years ago

That reminds me of something.

I used to have a friend who grew up in a small Swiss village. One day i got to see her slides of her parents farm, inn and restaurant. The village cheese house (I still think of working there) and, of course, the village.

One of the things I remember best was of that old clock maker sitting on a rocking chair on the porch in front of his shop. My friend told me, the clock maker didn't believe in DST. He left his clocks on standard time year round and ran his business hours according to standard time year round as well.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
8.1.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  dave-2693993 @8.1    6 years ago

Good story Dave!

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
8.2  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  KDMichigan @8    6 years ago
My biggest bitch about DST is my critters s don't follow a clock. So my animals wake me up at 3 am instead of 4.

Wally was a bit out of sorts this morn. He tried to get us up, too. 

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
9  Tacos!    6 years ago

Once again, I wasted a free hour by staying up later than usual and getting up earlier than usual. Sigh.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Expert
9.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Tacos! @9    6 years ago

Well, that does stink, but we actually slept in today.. so it took the edge off of the couch nap, which really is poor sleeping (or so they say).

 
 

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