TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – It’s going to stay sunnier later beginning Sunday thanks to daylight saving time, but the transition to make up the hour of sleep we lose can be tough.
Dr. Lara Wittine, Medical Director of Sleep Medicine at AdventHealth Tampa said to help ease the exhaustion of losing that hour of sleep, people should take small steps a few days prior to the clock changing on Sunday.
“I would say the same thing whether you’re a child, a teenager or an adult, is maybe three to four days in advance of that March 13, that Sunday, is to start kind of moving up your bedtime routine to about 15 minutes per day,” Dr. Wittine said. “So that it’s not a big leap and it’s hopefully not going to lead to too much frustration at bedtime when you’re like, ‘oh, I’m not really quite sleepy right now.’”
For example, she said parents should begin their child’s bedtime routine 15 minutes in advance of their normal time, then by another 15 minutes the next day.
“So then by Saturday, Sunday night you’re already transitioning into that little early hour of extra sleep so that way Monday morning you don’t have really, really cranky kids or really, really cranky parents,” she said.
Dr. Wittine said our circadian rhythm does catch up from losing that hour within two to three days, but it is a rough way to start the day for a while.
She said teenagers are more susceptible to feeling the negative effects of the time change. Teenagers are in a transitional period between early bedtimes as a child and staying up later as an adult.
“Teenagers already have a biological predisposition that’s occurring in their bodies naturally that make them want to delay their sleep times,” Dr. Wittine said.
Those negative effects relate to reaction time while driving to learning in the classroom.
“But even getting to sleep a half-hour earlier will just make that Monday morning start that much better,” Dr. Wittine said.
Seasonal changes to cardiovascular health are also seen after Daylight Saving, according to the doctor. Chances of a heart attack or stroke are lower in the summer months, due to increased exposure to daylight. More daylight leads to lower cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, levels.
The doctor does note, however, the risk of stroke and heart attack is actually increased in the first one to two days, or even a week, after the clock changes. It’s a “weird, strange effect of Daylight Saving time,” she said.
Risk can be combated with always being mindful of your heart health by eating well and seeking preventative care if you have a family history.
