1Today marks the first day of Daylight Savings Time, a fact which is generally seen as a plus, as it affords longer days as warmer weather sets in -- and that means time for after dinner walks, barbecues, and all the other pleasant pastimes that the coming spring and summer brings.
However, the time change, which occurred at 2 a.m. today (March 8) also brought with it the loss of an hour of sleep today, and that change apparently will affect out behavior in the coming week, with many of us feeling cranky, sleepy during the day, and even carries with it an increased risk of a heart attack, say researchers, who liken the feeling to jet lag.
According to a Swedish study, the risk of a myocardial infarction (heart attack) increases in the days following the time shift. The researchers also observed that the readjustment back to winter time the following October, when the clock's are set back one hour, decreased heart attack risk on the following Monday. That risk reduction, though, is less than the increased risk seen when clocks "spring" ahead, as they did today.
The study also provides a possible explanation why most heart attacks occur not only in the mornings, but, more specifically, on Monday mornings. Traditionally, it hought that these "Monday morning heart attacks," were due to the potential for increased stress following the weekend; the study, though, lends credence to the change being due to our biological clock, the researchers said.
What to do about it? If you do feel like taking a nap, go ahead, but don't grab those extra winks close to your usually bedtime, or you may not be able to sleep, experts say. Above all, be patient with your body, as the effects of the time change will wear off in the next few days.
You might also enjoy these:
- Time warp is bad for your health
- No wonder we're tired; we don't get enough sleep
- Got sleep? Probably not
Comments
I really find this interesting, and I posted a similar story. By the way, if you go to www.pubmed.com, and look for studies related to DST, you'll be overwhelmed by its ill-effects to health.
Nice story, but you only have 1digg! You submit your story to zeroprospects.com, a site for examiners to submit and digg other examiner stories. It's kind of like a mutual support network(you can easily delete this comment from your feed.examiner.com panel. Don't worry, I am not a spam robot, I am a person, and I actually typed this message.)
This has helped me alot. My dad had 2 heart attacks yesterday morning (monday morning) before setting off to work. The first one he had was a massive one and hes lucky to be alive. This has helped me a tone, for saying i am 16 i should know but i was never taught this stuff in my school...and my dads only 47 which is quiet a young age to have 1
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