Dont Forget to "Spring Forward" with Daylight Saving Time

In case you forgot before you went to sleep last night, be sure to set your clocks one hour ahead for Daylight Saving Time. Daylight Saving began at 2 a.m. today, according to NASA.

Creve Coeur Patch has a nice story about the health risks associated with losing an hour of sleep , which includes a Barnes Jewish Hospital system doctor's expert opinion on the matter. Here are just a couple points from the article.

Q.   Can people actually prepare themselves for daylight saving? What are some simple things we can do?

A:  Understand where you are in your sleep pattern. There is a trend in our country to sleep less than our recommended amount. A recent study shows that a third of the population is sleeping less than seven hours. The additional loss of one hour of sleep time will accrue in addition to their current sleep debt. Start by planning a few days, if not at least week, in advance. Move the bedtime gradually to earlier time and attempt seven to eight hours of sleep time as a goal. Exposure to bright light in the early morning hours will help with this change. This may be very helpful for the transition into a new time period. If you use melatonin, take it earlier in the evening. Melatonin by itself without adequate sunlight exposure may have a limited effect.  

Q. Is any one age group more profoundly affected by daylight saving?  

A: All age groups are affected by the change in the time. Daylight saving may compound an already significant sleep debt in the adolescent or school-age group.  Without compensation for the loss of one hour, people may use their prior sleep cycle to tell then of the need to go to bed. Their biorhythm will be an hour at least too late. This will perpetuate their sleep loss over many days rather than rapidly correcting to the new time. Others have shown a decrease in sleep quality with biorhythm disturbances with daylight saving. This will have a similar effect on shift workers as well. Try not to move a pre-existing sleep debt into a new time zone.