Good news: You’ll get an extra hour of great sleep. The bad: It will be pitch black in the late afternoon for the next few months in the U.S.
Daylight saving time ends next Sunday, November 3, at 2 a.m. local time. This means you should set your clock back an hour before bed. Standard time will continue until March 9th, and the return of daylight saving time will begin another “spring forward.”
Spring’s seasonal changes can be even tougher on your body. Darker mornings and lighter nights can throw your body clock off track, making it difficult to fall asleep on time for weeks or more. Studies have even found an increase in heart attacks and strokes right after the March time change.
“Fallback” should be easier. But it may still take some time to adjust your sleep habits, not to mention the downsides of working in the dark or exercising in the light. Some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that is associated with shorter days and fewer hours of daylight, usually in the fall and winter.
Some health groups, such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, argue that it’s time to do away with the time switch and that observing standard time is more in tune with the sun and human biology. I am doing it.
Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. The dates on which clocks are changed differ primarily in Europe and North America.
Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, remain unchanged and remain on standard time.
Here’s what you need to know about the biannual ritual.
how the body reacts to light
The brain has a master clock, which is set by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that determines when we feel sleepy and when we become more awake. This pattern changes with age. This is one reason why early risers evolve into late-sleepers teens.
Morning light resets the rhythm. In the evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to spike, causing sleepiness. Too much light in the evening adds an extra hour of light after daylight saving time, which delays the light surge and causes the cycles to get out of sync.
And the circadian clock affects more than just sleep, affecting things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones, and metabolism.
How do changes in time affect sleep?
Even a one-hour change in your clock can throw off your sleep schedule. Even if the clock changes, the start time for work or school remains the same.
This is a problem because so many people are already sleep deprived. Approximately 1 in 3 U.S. adults get less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep each night, and more than half of U.S. teens get less than the recommended 8 hours or more on weeknights. I haven’t had any sleep.
Lack of sleep is linked to heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity, and many other problems.
How to prepare for the changing times
Some people try to prepare for the impact of the change by making small changes to their bedtime before the change. There are ways to make adjustments easier, such as getting sunlight to reset your circadian rhythm for healthy sleep.
Will the US ever get rid of time changes?
Lawmakers sometimes propose eliminating time changes altogether. The most notable recent effort is the currently stalled bipartisan bill, the Sun Protection Act, which proposes to make daylight saving time permanent. Health experts say the opposite is true of lawmakers and that standard time should be made permanent.
