4 Ways Daylight Saving Time Affects Your Health

Daylight Saving Time is enjoyable 50% of the time. Falling back is more than okay with me. If we wanted to do that a couple times a year, I'd be on the frontlines for that conversation. I absolutely hate changing timezones 4 times while walking through my house for the first two week after the time change. DST is actually affecting our health more than we think, according to the Associated Press.

1. Sleep Cycles are Affected.

Time Change obviously changes the amount of sleep we get, whether that be removing an hour or adding one. One study showed that 1 in 3 adults sleep less than the recommended amount, and that the week after the "Spring Forward" change, teens and adults alike can actually expect to sleep a few hours less than normal. Chronic Sleep Deprivation can increase levels of stress, causing heart rates and blood pressures to rise significantly.

2. Heart Attacks Increase

Blood is known to clot faster early in the morning, so Springtime hails a higher rate of heart attacks the Monday after the time change. Combining the rise in heart rate and blood pressure due to sleep deprivation with faster clotting blood, you've got yourself the perfect storm for heart attacks.

3. More Car Accidents.

It's no secret that less sleep means lower rates of alertness and performance. It's also no secret that lower rates of alertness and performance means higher rates of accidents. A German study showed a sudden spike in car accidents the Monday after we "Spring Ahead," but not when we "Fall Back."

4. The Internal Clock System is Screwed

Studies show that messing with the body clock too much can lead to a myriad of health problems. Circadian Biologists (I google this field of biology and didn't understand the result, so you're on your own) say that sleep regulates many body functions, causing obesity, depression, heart problems, and "other conditions."

There's a lot of negative affects, and I think it's easy to tell what the obvious solution here is; Fall Back twice a year. After 12 years we'll be back on the right sun schedule. This way, we will always get the extra sleep, and never have to deal with the consequences of springing ahead.