On Sunday, March 10th at 2am, it’s time to “spring forward” and move your clocks ahead one hour. To many, this is a promising sign of spring weather, longer days of sunlight, and the end of the dreary dark days of winter. However, more and more health professionals, as well as those in the general public, are questioning the benefits of this practice. In fact, the harms are seeming to outweigh any benefits at all. As I wrote for Forbes last year, this seemingly minor jump of just one hour can cause some serious impacts on health and safety.
All states in the U.S. except for Arizona and Hawaii, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, move clocks forward one hour in the spring, to Daylight Saving Time (DST) and move them back one hour in the fall, usually in early November, to Standard Time. While each switch weekend (it’s always on a Saturday/Sunday, so people have one day to acclimate before the start of a Monday work and school week) is just one hour, the spring forward weekend takes a much bigger toll on the body and on public safety and health than the ‘fall behind’ weekend.
On the Monday morning after the switch to DST, most school children will wake up in the dark. Some, especially those in the upper midwestern states such as Michigan and Illinois, will walk, wait at a bus stop, or be driven to school, in the dark. The sun will rise in Michigan just before 8am next week. Some schools begin class well before that, in the dark. While many believe that this is a small price to pay for a longer day on the other end (the sun will set in Michigan at 7:25pm next week), the dangers of driving and the toll on health have led to groups such as the nonprofit “Save Standard Time” to create initiatives to stop the switch.
There is always an uptick in vehicular accidents, with a nearly 6% rise, including injuries and deaths to pedestrians during the week following the switch to DST. In addition, there is an uptick in health issues such as heart attacks during this week. While it seems minor enough, especially to those who frequently travel east/west and have minimal impacts from just a one- or even a three-hour time change, it’s a different story when over 95% of the nation’s population is making the switch at the same moment. When you travel to a new time zone, those who live there are fully acclimated, making up for the few who are a bit off from their sleep and wake schedules.
There are techniques to minimize the blow of the upcoming time change, such as trying to shift sleep schedules a day or two before, by going to sleep 10-30 minutes earlier each night for a few nights. Getting exposure to daylight or a daylight lightbox in the early morning hours after wakening can help shift circadian rhythms. Holding off on alcohol in the evenings and limiting caffeine-containing foods and beverages such as chocolate, coffee, tea and sodas to earlier in the day can also help. At the end of the day, when the sun is still high in the sky but it’s nearing bedtime, especially for younger children, minimizing exposure to daylight by closing window shades and dimming indoor lights can help. The release of the hormone responsible for sleepiness, melatonin, is disrupted when the body is exposed to daylight. Conversely, the release of serotonin, responsible for wakefulness and energy, is disrupted when the mornings are dark.
The question of stopping the switch has also raised the issue of which time is better? Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time? According to sleep experts, the answer is clearly Standard Time, as the lighter mornings and slightly earlier sunsets, even in the summer months, are more appropriate for natural human circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent. While this would mean that there would be no time change midway through the winter and fall of each year, health professionals and especially sleep experts are fully against this proposal, as the permanent time, when it comes to optimizing health, should be standard time, not daylight saving time. To date, at least 29 states have considered individually switching to daylight saving time.
For now, we are committed to the biannual switch, so we all need to be ready for this weekend and next week. As I shared with Forbes in the past, here are some specifics that might help:
- Getting to sleep an hour or so earlier on Saturday March 10th can help, or cut your bed time by 15 to 30 minutes per night for a few nights before Saturday.
- Avoid using an extra drink of alcohol or a large meal before hitting the pillow.
- If you have children or infants at home, expect some moodiness or even tantrums.
- Re-set the clocks for the kids even a day or two before Saturday, and make sure that Sunday starts at the “new” wake-up time. This might mean setting an alarm for the adults.
- Turn off bright lights and screens an hour or two before heading to bed. This goes for all nights, on any time zone.
- Avoid caffeinated beverages after the late morning.
- Get some sunlight on your face as early as you can. This is a tough one for those in occupations where the day starts at 5am or 6am. The upside is that folks (surgeons, for one) in these fields rarely are up after sunrise at any time of year, standard or daylight saving.
- Be extra careful on the roads. This includes as a driver, passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian. Even if you’ve done your part to smooth this time change, don’t assume that all others have, as well. Be vigilant.
The next switch date, back to Standard Time, will be November 3, 2024, just two days before the 2024 presidential election day. The serotonin will, no doubt, be on high levels that week, in very small part due to being back on more sleep-conducive circadian rhythms, even if the sun has already set when you get to the voting booth.
