Has daylight savings left you feeling tired?

Every autumn when Daylight Saving Time (DST) rolls around, most of us tend to appreciate the extra hour of sleep. When spring comes around however, many tend to suffer from the loss of sleep. Since there are a number of health risks that accompany the time change, we must be proactive in making sure the time change doesn’t negatively affect our health.

Screen Shot 2015-03-09 at 2.23.58 PM

The days after DST begins can leave many feeling dazed. Image Source: Flickr Commons by: Zeek_

Every spring we turn our clocks one hour ahead to allow for brighter evenings. DST started during the world wars to save energy, as less lighting was needed in the evenings because the evenings were brighter.

The reason we suffer when the clocks turn ahead by an hour is related to our “biological clock“. This clock tells us when to sleep based on our bodies natural 24 hour cycle. When we lose an hour of sleep, our internal clock can be thrown off, resulting in a variety of negative affects.

The overwhelming benefit of DST is the brighter evenings we get in the warmer months, but just what are the drawbacks? Consider this videos response:

YouTube Preview Image

Video Source: Harvard Public Health

As mentioned in the video above, there have been reports of increased risk for heart attacks after the time change, as well as an increased number of deaths due to car accidents. What seems like a little sleepiness can have a huge impact on many.

Interestingly, Washington state is considering getting rid of DST due to the risks associated with the time change. Although the removal of DST could be very beneficial health-wise, British Columbia is not likely to do the same. Even if we can’t get rid of DST, we can find a way to better adapt to the change.

Take a look at this video that provides a great solution to the abrupt change of DST:

YouTube Preview Image

Video Source: Sleep Number

Regardless of whether you are for or against DST, it’s likely to stay. So even if the start of DST has left you tired, make sure to plan for a regular daily sleep schedule and be prepared for next springs time change.

-Selamawit Joseph

 

 

4 responses to “Has daylight savings left you feeling tired?

Leave a Reply