If you’re still feeling a little out of sorts for a few days after changing your clocks for daylight saving time, a Peoria physician says you’re not alone.
“People have a natural circadian rhythm that's kind of dictated by daylight, and that allows them to function well, their sleep cycle, their awake cycle,” said Dr. Brian Curtis, the chief medical officer for OSF Medical Group. “So the shifting that hour forward impacts that circadian rhythm.”
The annual spring adjustment takes effect at 2 a.m. Sunday, with clocks moving ahead one hour. The extended daylight period continues until Nov. 2.
Curtis said for the most part, both changes can be equally disruptive.
“But when you're springing forward, you're actually losing an hour of sleep, so that then has that secondary impact that you've now actually decreased the sleep cycle, and you're changing the day-night impact to the person,” he said.
Getting readjusted to the time change is similar to getting back on track following long-distance travel, Curtis said.
“If you've ever traveled and you've shifted time zones, you know it can take you 3-7 days to adjust into that new time zone, and it's usually easier when you're gaining time, not when you're losing time,” he said, noting the adjustment period can take up to 14 days for someone not prepared for the change ahead of time.
While the act of changing a clock may seem relatively simple, Curtis said there can be some serious health factors involved.
“Anything that interrupts the quality of sleep you have has a significant impact on to your health. So, if you have a chronic medical illness, impacting your sleep impacts that illness,” he said. “People with high blood pressure, their blood pressure can get worse. People that don't have high blood pressure, it impacts that, too.
“People that have depression, that has negative impact to that with this shift in the hours. Actually, they've shown an increase, probably in the first couple weeks after the daylight saving time takes effect, an increase of heart attacks, increased risk of stroke.”
For people with those health issues, Curtis recommends making a 10-minute schedule adjustment each day over the week ahead of the time change. He also suggests everyone practice “good sleep hygiene.”
“Avoid caffeine after 12 [midnight]. Avoid alcohol. Go to bed at the same time, with a consistent cycle,” he said. “Avoidance of blue light, which is like your phone, for a couple hours before bed. Exercise in the morning, so that tends to kind of change that circadian rhythm.
“And then practice kind of mindful things, whether it's meditation or prayer or whatever you have. That can also help reset it.”
Curtis cautions that alcohol intake in particular can make it tougher to get sleep cycles back on track.
“People think it's easier to fall asleep after you have a couple drinks, but alcohol actually impacts your sleep quality and that’s why you tend to fall asleep easier,” he said. “It's not restful sleep because, you have trouble entering REM sleep. So really, this is a time, definitely, if you have a lot of trouble with sleep, really to try to avoid alcohol.”
