As most of the U.S. “springs forward” into daylight saving time this Sunday, the one-hour shift in clocks can mean more than just losing an hour of sleep.
Darker mornings and brighter evenings can disrupt your body’s circadian rhythms in ways that may negatively impact your health in the days and weeks after the time change.
Sleep experts warn that this biannual resetting of our body clocks to sync up with the new daylight patterns often leads to sleep troubles that can linger.
Your brain has a master circadian clock that governs cycles of sleepiness and alertness based on light exposure. The additional sunlight from daylight saving time in the evenings delays the natural nightly melatonin surge that brings on drowsiness, disrupting the natural rhythm.
“Not unlike when one travels across many time zones, how long it can take [to adjust] is very different for different people,” said Dr. Eduardo Sanchez of the American Heart Association. “Understand that your body is transitioning.”
Numerous studies have linked the start of daylight saving time to upticks in negative health impacts like heart attacks, strokes, and even fatal car crashes in the days immediately following. Researchers believe the abrupt disruption to circadian rhythms and resulting sleep deprivation also impacts certain underlying risks like high blood pressure.
While the health effects of the “leap forward” are typically short-term for most people, chronic sleep deficiency from misaligned body clocks has been associated with conditions like obesity, heart disease, and cognitive decline. This has led some medical groups to call for permanently adopting standard time without clock shifts.
To ease the transition, experts recommend slowly adjusting bedtimes a few days in advance and trying to get more morning sunlight exposure to reset your rhythms.
Cutting out screen time at night and using less caffeine can also help prepare your body for the earlier bedtime daylight saving time brings.
The annual “spring forward” is a reminder that adequate, consistent sleep remains critical for overall health and well-being. Being aware of the body clock disruptions and proactively adjusting habits may help limit any negative impacts as our days shift out of alignment with our internal circadian timekeepers.
The Horn editorial team