Daylight saving time has started. Here’s how to adjust

Like many Americans, Pittsburgh-area resident Josh Lucas wishes the time change didn’t have to happen.

“You get acclimated to a way of being, and then all of a sudden the sky is a different color, and you have to still function in the normal way,” said Lucas.

And it’s not always easy to keep functioning normally. In fact, most sleep researchers and clinicians say that the spring-forward time change is bad for our health.

In the days following the time change, the country sees a higher incidence of car accidents, strokes and heart attacks.

There are more fatal overdoses and suicides. People suffer more migraines and are at greater risk of getting injured at work.

One study even found that IVF patients were more likely to experience a spontaneous pregnancy loss, though only if they’d previously miscarried.

These findings make sense to Brant Hasler, a sleep and circadian researcher at the University of Pittsburgh. He says when clocks jump forward, it disrupts not just our sleep but also our circadian rhythm.

The circadian rhythm exists in almost every cell of the body. Hasler likens it to an orchestra of clocks, with the conductor directing from the hypothalamus, a small region within the center of the brain. This clock orchestra not only determines when we sleep but also regulates our metabolism, body temperature, our emotions, aspects of cognition and several hormones.

And switching from standard to daylight saving time throws our clocks out of tune, much like jet lag, making us irritable and tired.

Because our circadian rhythm is synced with the sun, having less light in the morning and more in the evening makes it harder to be alert during the day and sleep at night. Therefore, some sleep even later during daylight saving compared to standard, says Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula, who specializes in sleep medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gurubhagavatula told NPR via email that people usually feel back to normal after a week or so. But warned the time change sometimes triggers chronic sleep issues that persist for months.

“Most people in the U.S. are already sleep-deprived, which makes the sudden loss of one more hour of sleep particularly painful,” she says.

Gurubhagavatula and Hasler oppose efforts to abolish standard time and “lock the clock” on daylight saving.

Daylight saving time is contrary to hundreds of thousands of years of human biology, as we evolved to wake with the sun, and go to sleep when it gets dark, Hasler says.

“It makes sense to me just to stick with that, rather than trying to monkey about with it,” he says.

Who’s affected the most?

The time change affects everyone, though it disrupts some more than others, says Allison Harvey, who runs a sleep and mood research clinic at the University of California, Berkeley.

People living toward the western edges of a time zone will likely feel these effects more because the sun rises later in these communities. For example, on Monday, the sun rises in Boston at 7:04 am EDT. But in Kalamazoo, Mich., on the other side of the Eastern Time Zone, the sun doesn’t rise until 8:02 am EDT.

People with depression and bipolar disorder are particularly vulnerable since these patients already have difficulty keeping a regular sleep schedule, says Harvey.

“Sleep pushes our moods around,” she says. “So, of course, sleep and mental health challenges go hand in hand.”

Teenagers are also in for a rough week. At the start of puberty, the circadian rhythm shifts so that our bodies get tired and wake up much later than most school start times. As a result, many young people are already sleep deprived, so waking an hour earlier will make them even more exhausted.

Harvey warned that over the next week, some young people might have more conflict with their parents or do worse in school.

In addition to increased health and safety risks, how some people view the world might be skewed this week. Research shows we’re less generous and make worse investment decisions during the first week of daylight saving. Federal judges are likely to issue harsher sentences the Monday after the time change.

So how to adapt to the time change?

To adjust, we need to help that symphony of circadian clocks get in sync with the new time as soon as possible.

Much like adapting to jet lag, we can adjust by taking advantage of external cues that reset our inner clocks, including light exposure, exercise and even what we eat and drink.

Probably the most powerful of these cues is light. When you wake up, go outside into the morning sun as this bright light exposure tells your body it’s time to be awake. Hasler says for this to be effective people need to be in the natural light for at least 20 minutes, though more is better.

But Harvey says any amount can help. If it’s still dark out when your alarm goes off, Harvey suggests turning on all the lights in your house to signal to your brain that day is starting. Still, outside light is far brighter, even on a cloudy day, so try to get outdoors as soon as the sun’s up.

Also, get some exercise, as research suggests physical activity can improve your sleep. Some research into circadian rhythms and exercise shows that physical activity can be another cue for your inner clocks to reset. Recent clinical trials have found that exercising in the morning or early afternoon may help push your rhythms toward an earlier schedule.

Watch your alcohol and caffeine intake. Don’t rely on alcohol to wind down because while drinking can help you fall asleep, that sleep tends to be lower quality. More frequent cannabis use can also disrupt sleep. And cut out the afternoon coffees — caffeine has a long half life and can still be in your system by bedtime.

It may be a struggle to get to bed early, so watch your evening routine and keep good sleep hygiene. Turn off phones and other distractions, and get to bed early, says Harvey.

Also, try not to stress about not getting enough rest, as that can make it even harder to fall asleep, says Harvey. Most of us should feel back to normal in a week or two, so be patient with yourself and others

“The human sleep system is a flexible system, and we will all survive this,” Harvey says.