Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Spring Backward: A One-Two Punch to Your Body Clock

I am still reeling from the change to Daylight Saving Time. I got a newsletter in my inbox (www.apollohealth.com) that says (regarding people with delayed circadian rhythm), "DST hits us twice as hard since it not only robs us of that hour of precious morning light, but the added evening light sends the wrong signal to our Supra-chaismatic Nucleus to further delay our body clock. For most people who suffer from SAD or circadian rhythm problems, the effect of DST is much worse than losing an hour. Experts estimate that DST can throw our body clock off by three to four hours." Ugh!

Of course there are things that can be done. But since I don't want to rip off the entire newsletter, you'll have to go there and read it yourself. Or subscribe, because they don't post the current issue on their site right away.

Then I started to read one of my many, many books... Sleep Thieves (found it at the used book store) that car accidents go up 7% after DST. I am seriously considering avoiding unneccessary driving next year, for like a week after DST! This is for two reasons: I avoid driving on big party nights like New Year's Eve, because there are more drunk drivers out there. Sleepy drivers aren't much better, if at all, than drunk drivers. Also, I would be one of those sleepy drivers! That's no good!

Now that a week and a half has passed, I've gone from being unable to sleep until about 1 am to sleeping at 10 or 11pm. So I'd say that I've mostly adjusted to the change. Those of you who live in my city can relax.

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