How to avoid issues from Daylight Savings Time

With Daylight Savings on March 8th, we will lose an hour of sleep. This article explains why it may be an issue for people and gives tips on how to avoid any problems.

You may find you feel a little more tired than usual next month as you adjust to the start of Daylight Saving Time, which begins at 2 a.m on Sunday, March 8.

“An hour seems like a minor change, but moving the clock ahead one hour can be very stressful or disruptive for some people, particularly for those who are already sleep deprived,” says to Jeffrey P. Barasch, M.D., FACCP, FAASM, Medical Director of The Valley Hospital Center for Sleep Medicine.

“The problem goes beyond just the loss of a single hour of sleep on the night of the clock change,” Dr. Barasch says, “The time change also plays havoc with the body’s circadian rhythm, or biological clock.”

This biological clock, located within a part of the brain behind the eyes, determines when we feel alert and when we are sleepy. The internal clock keeps our bodies synchronized with the daily light-dark cycle of the outside world. The biologic clock is ‘set’ or fixed to the time of day by two factors: the time we regularly wake up in the morning and our exposure to sunlight during the day. It can be reset, but (as anyone who has traveled by airplane across several time zones has experienced), the biological clock cannot be adjusted too quickly.

When we move the time clock one hour earlier for daylight savings time, our bodies remain partly on the prior schedule (known as ‘jetlag’ in plane travel). The result: 7 am in daylight savings time is equivalent to 6 a.m. standard time. Also, your typically sunlit mornings will now be dark, and that lack of morning light makes it even more difficult for your internal clock to adjust. So not only are we losing an hour of sleep, but since it can take some time to readjust, we’re left feeling tired for more than the one day on which the clocks change.

People who normally sleep well can usually adjust to the time shift with relatively little difficulty. However, if someone has been barely coping with an undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorder, daylight saving time can exacerbate and therefore unmask problems such as sleep apnea, insomnia or periodic limb movement disorder.

The following tips from Dr. Barasch can help you get a good night’s sleep:
• On the nights after the time change, go to bed at your usual time. You may experience some difficulty falling asleep, because your body’s clock has not yet adjusted.
• Get up at your usual time regularly. Although you may find this a bit difficult, it will help you adjust to the time change.
• Avoid sunlight or bright light in the first few evenings after the time change, as this will tend to keep you awake later and prevent adjustment of your body’s clock.
• Try to get sunlight exposure soon after awakening in the first few mornings after the time change, as this will help you adjust to the new time.
• A short nap can help make up for less sleep, but won’t help you acclimate to the new schedule. Don’t nap within a few hours of your regular bedtime to avoid disrupting nighttime sleep.
• Create a sleep-friendly environment that is dark, cool, comfortable and quiet.
• Have a relaxing routine before bedtime, such as soaking in a hot bath, reading or listening to soothing music.
• Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol for several hours prior to bedtime, as they can disrupt sleep.

If you regularly experience daytime drowsiness, fatigue or disturbed sleep, speak to your doctor or consult with a sleep medicine specialist.

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Recommendations for adapting to daylight savings time

This article provides information on how daylight savings time affects us and tips for how to acclimate to the time change.

When daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, that extra hour of sleep comes at the price of early evening darkness.

As we set clocks back one hour, we essentially gain an extra hour of sleep. But a Vanderbilt University Medical Center sleep specialist confirms what a lot of us already know—this change in sleep schedule can still cause a groggy and unsettled feeling come Monday morning, especially with our tendency to shift sleep patterns on the weekends.

“When we start playing around with our schedule, or have an irregular schedule staying up on weekends, we’re not allowing our clock to reset at its usual time,” said Raghu Upender, M.D., medical director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center.

But there are ways to fight the sluggish feeling of being out of sync. Getting extra exposure to sunlight can help reset the biological clock and cope with the darker evenings. Upender’s best advice for resetting the internal clock is to get light exposure in the morning.

“It doesn’t have to be blasting sunlight. Open the curtains and turn on all the bright lights in your house, or get outside for a walk,” he said.

He says that light perception through the eye’s retina regulates the hormone melatonin, which controls the sleep-wake cycle, among other functions. Light inhibits the production of melatonin, while darkness encourages it.

“There are direct tracks from the eye to the brain structures that help sync the biological clock. This comes from our early days as humans when our only cues were the sun. Daylight hours were the times of activity and productivity,” Upender said.

This explains why we often feel more tired or groggy in the fall and winter months, when days are shorter and there are fewer hours of sunlight.

Most people adjust within a few weeks, especially with extra sunlight exposure during the day. In severe cases, sometimes called seasonal affective disorder, doctors may prescribe light therapy or melatonin hormone supplements.

Beth Malow, M.D., M.S., chief of Vanderbilt’s Division of Sleep Disorders, said trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or feeling tired during the day may indicate a sleep disorder.

“I encourage people to discuss symptoms with their health care provider, as sleep disorders are highly treatable and can make a big difference in our health and daytime functioning,” Malow said.

Additional recommendations for good sleep:
· Establish a relaxing pre-sleep ritual, such as taking a bath, reading or listening to calm music.
· Make sure the bedroom is quiet, dark and at a comfortable temperature.
· Avoid the bright lights and stimulation of TVs, computers and other electronics before bed.
· Avoid large meals, alcohol and caffeine before bed.
· Exercise earlier in the day, not right before bed.
· Keep the same bedtime and wake time each day, even on weekends.

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Spring Forward: Helping Your Body Adjust to Daylight Savings

Spring forward soon. There are effects form losing even one hour of sleep. JR

Sure we get an extra hour of daylight, but adjusting to Daylight Savings Time, which kicks off next weekend, can be a challenge. Our physical time-keeping clocks are easy to change, but what about the internal clocks?

"I get up an hour early for the first few days," said Huntsville resident Gene Lang.

Well, the best way to adjust to either time change, falling back or springing forward, is developing good habits and nighttime rituals to which you can adhere.

According to the Mayo Clinic, you should try the following:

• Stick to a schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, holidays and days off. Being consistent reinforces your body's sleep-wake cycle and helps promote better sleep at night.
• Pay attention to your tummy. Don't go to bed either hungry or stuffed. Your discomfort might keep you up. Also limit how much you drink before bed, to prevent disruptive middle-of-the-night trips to the toilet. Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too.
• Create a bedtime ritual. Do the same things each night to tell your body it's time to wind down. This might include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to soothing music — preferably with the lights dimmed. Be wary of TV, computers and other electronics
• Get comfortable. Create a room that's ideal for sleeping. Often, this means cool, dark and quiet. Your mattress and pillow can contribute to better sleep, too.
• Limit daytime naps. Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep — especially if you're struggling with insomnia or poor sleep quality at night. If you choose to nap during the day, limit yourself to about 10 to 30 minutes.
• Be physically active during the day. Regular physical activity can promote better sleep, helping you to fall asleep faster and to enjoy deeper sleep. Timing is important, though. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you might be too energized to fall asleep.
• Manage stress. When you have too much to do — and too much to think about — your sleep is likely to suffer. To help restore peace to your life, consider healthy ways to manage stress. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks.

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Daylight Saving: How Time Change Affects Our Health

At 2 a.m. Sunday morning, we finally recaptured that lost hour of sleep from last March as we marked the end of daylight saving time. And for the 47 million Americans who are sleep deprived, that extra hour is a chance to literally make up for lost time.

"This is one of those weekends we should really relish," said HuffPost blogger Russell Rosenberg, Ph.D., CEO of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation. "The fact that Americans are so sleep deprived, it's a nice reprieve from the busy lifestyles that we all lead."

Rosenberg said this is the "good news story" of daylight saving time -- the welcome counterpart to the hour of sleep we lose at the beginning of spring, which can take up to a week to adjust to and send those who are already sleep deprived over the threshold of "crashing and burning." In fact, some studies have found a link between the spring-forward clock change and an increase in accidents and heart attacks.

On the other hand, some of those same studies often suggest the opposite effect in the fall -- aNew England Journal of Medicine report found that heart attack rates decrease the Monday after the end of daylight saving time, Harvard Health Blog reports, while a Canadian study found a decrease in car accidents after the fall change, though Harvard Health Blog does point out that another study found an increase in accidents after both changes.

These time changes play out in our body a bit like jet lag might, explained Michael Decker, Ph.D., an associate professor at Georgia State University and spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Springing forward is like flying from west to east -- say from California to Washington, D.C. -- while falling back is like flying from east to west. And as frequent flyers can attest, the eastbound change is much harder to acclimate to than the westbound for most. "The adjustment is much milder in the fall than it is in the springtime," Decker says. And that means we may be experiencing a collective, but mild, jet lag this Sunday, which will clear up in 24 hours or so.

Yet while the transition may be an easy one, for many falling back also signifies a shift into winter and the changing light patterns that come with it. And perhaps that's the real health story behind the end of daylight saving time, stretching into winter long after that regained hour is forgotten.

For early birds and school children, the shift will mean it's light instead of dark outside in the mornings, which is good news for our internal biological clocks. When light stimulates a certain part of the brain first thing in the morning, it can make us more vigilant throughout the day and boost moods in the long run, Decker explained. "Now that the sun is rising a little earlier, we really want to think about getting up, going outside," he said. "Getting that bright light in the morning is absolutely key to health and performance and everything that goes with it."

But getting sunlight earlier in the day also means it may already be dark by the time people are leaving work. "There's always a psychological impact of it getting dark so early -- feeling that the days are shorter, and that winter is coming," Rosenberg explained.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/06/daylight-savings-time-health_n_1078661.html