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As Americans across the country are getting ready to wind the clocks ahead one hour this Sunday, experts are weighing in on how to prevent the negative health effects that are often associated with daylight saving time.
For many, daylight saving time signals the end of winter and the beginning of better spring weather. Additionally, the extra hour means that the days will gradually begin to get longer as the calendar moves towards the summer months.
While the phenomenon is frequently welcomed as the conclusion of winter hibernation, daylight saving time can often adversely affect people's health, according to sleep science experts.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has long pushed for Congress to end daylight saving time. Their stance is backed by a recent YouGov poll that found that 63 percent of Americans wanted to end the yearly time changes.
Beyond just losing an hour of sleep every March, the AASM lists a number of bad health effects that have been scientifically linked to daylight saving time. This can include an increase in the number of fatal car crashes, a higher risk of stroke, increased mood disturbances, and an overall disruption to the body's internal clock, according to the AASM.
"Physicians, legislators and the general public have been talking about the health and safety benefits of eliminating seasonal time changes for years," Erin Flynn-Evans, a sleep and circadian researcher, said in an AASM press release. "Research shows that time changes affect the body's circadian rhythm, or body clock, which makes it more difficult to achieve quality sleep and also negatively impacts health and safety."
The AASM, as well as a number of other resources and researchers, have provided tips on how to minimize the negative effects on the body that come when the hands on the clock skip forward.
This includes adjusting personal sleep and wake schedules anywhere from two to three days before the time change occurs. The AASM says that adjusting other daily routines to account for the change can also be beneficial, such as beginning to eat dinner earlier.
"Head outdoors for some early morning sunlight on Sunday," the AASM said. "The bright light will help set your internal clock, which regulates sleep and alertness."
The AASM also recommended people "go to bed early enough on Sunday night to get plenty of sleep before the week begins on Monday."
"We are hopeful that seasonal time changes will be eliminated in the near future. Until then, it's important to be mindful of the health and safety consequences this time change can have and to prepare for it as best as possible," said Flynn-Evans.
Beyond the AASM, other researchers are also pushing helpful tips for minimizing poor effects, while at the same time urging lawmakers to make a change.
"Basically what is going to happen Monday morning is that you will have jet lag without traveling," Dr. Abid Bhat, medical director for Kansas City's University Health Sleep Center, told the Kansas City Star.
"One big mistake I see among people who cannot fall asleep or stay asleep is to push themselves harder to sleep," Bhat said. "You have to consolidate your time in bed."
Another pair of researchers expressed similar sentiments about the health effects of daylight saving time.
"Standard time aligns with most people's circadian rhythm much better than daylight savings time (agreement between clock/sun time and natural rhythms) so many people end up sleeping less during daylight savings time," Dr. Sara Benjamin, a clinical associate at the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep and Wellness, told Newsweek. "Sleep deprivation can affect memory, mood, and motivation, and can have cardiovascular consequences."
"All sleep and circadian rhythm experts and professional organizations believe that daylight saving time should be abolished and that permanent daylight saving time is a frightening prospect," Dr. David Neubauer with the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences also told Newsweek. "The current enthusiasm for permanent daylight saving time is grossly misguided with a return to the extremely unpopular 1970s dark winter mornings with commuters going to work and children going to school long before sunrise, inevitably leading to injuries and fatalities. Scores of professional organizations advocate a return to permanent standard time, all recognizing the personal and public health problems resulting from the current standard-daylight saving time shifts, as well as the greater problems that would result from a permanent daylight saving time plan."
As researchers push for the end of daylight saving time, a congressional panel once again debated the merits of such a decision during a hearing this past Wednesday. Similar motions on ending the practice are being discussed in almost 40 different states.
Update 03/14/2022, 5:45 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from doctors at Johns Hopkins University.
