Ok…happy Springing forward day!  (Did you remember to turn the clock?) If you’re like me, while I’m so glad it’ll be light later, that loss of an hour makes me grouchy!  And I feel a little wimpy at how it affects my sleep for days and makes me feel out of sorts for a while.  I tell myself, good Lord, it’s only an hour! What’s the big deal?  So it got me wondering, am I just being dramatic, or is this a thing?

Turns out, it is a thing!  Researchers say that the disruption in sleep pattern from pushing the clock forward causes grogginess, tiredness, and foul moods.  But even more alarming is that the clock change can actually have health consequences for many people.  Research from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) shows that the impacts from changing the clock include increased heart attacks and strokes.  It’s also associated with increased hospital admissions, elevated productions of inflammatory markers in response to stress, and increases in substance abuse.  There is an increase in the number of car accidents that occur after springing forward.  A 2020 study found that the risk of fatal car accidents increased by 6% following the clock change in March.

Having light later also can lead to issues with the balance of our circadian rhythms, our internal body clock.  Dr. Adam Spira, a sleep medical specialist explains that having light late into the evening makes it harder for us to fall asleep and can reduce the amount of sleep we get.  In addition, having less light in the morning can make it hard to get our bodies going.  Light exposure at daybreak has an alerting effect and kick starts our internal clock.  According to Spira, “we function best when our sleep-wake cycle follows the sun.”

Some groups are more affected by others it appears.  People who live in the Western edges of time zones (who get light later in the morning and evening) and people with little control over their schedules, such as shift workers who drive to work early in the morning, are more impacted.  Adolescents, who tend to need more sleep than adults, also display more adverse effects.  A 2015 study found that during school days after the time change, students were sleepier, had slower reaction times and were less attentive. In other words, best not to schedule your SAT test in March!

Ok, so now that we’ve established it is indeed a thing, how did it come to be?  Well, we can all blame Ben Franklin.  Apparently, old Ben came up with the idea in 1784, believing that rising earlier would economize candle usage and save people money.  The idea was formally adopted during World War I as part of a global effort to conserve energy, making greater use of daylight during the warmer months.  This idea has persisted, but a 2017 paper published by the International Association for Energy Economics actually argues that as society has evolved, lighting accounts for less energy consumption, and extending the use of daylight actually encourages people to use more air conditioning and heating, which has a bigger use of electricity in the long run.

While many sleep researchers advocate abolishing Daylight Savings Time altogether, there are things we can do to help our adjustment in the meantime.  Getting outside in the morning light is one way to help our body realign, as well as making sure we go to bed earlier for a few days to make up for the time lost in sleep.  And avoid having extra caffeine as a way to “perk” yourself up, as it can further disrupt your body’s natural balance.

So, if you’re yawning while you’re reading this, please remember it’s not my writing that’s making your eyes droop!  It’s that forced loss of precious sleep that’s to blame.  You, and 300 million other people are feeling a bit extra tired today.