The Perilous Aftermath Of Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings TimeOn Sunday, many people across the country turned their clocks an hour forward for Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight Savings Time, originally implemented in Germany during World War II as a means to save energy, is currently observed in the United States, except for in Hawaii and Arizona. Reportedly, for the reasons stated below, Massachusetts and Florida have begun lobbying to abandon compliance with Daylight Savings Time.

Researchers have noticed that on the day after people have “sprung ahead” in order to comply with Daylight Savings Times, a spike in heart attacks occur. According to Business Insider, “On the Monday after [the] springtime switch, hospitals report a 24% spike in heart attack visits around the country.” [NOTE: This trend has an opposite effect when people turn their clocks back an hour. Fall Daylight Savings Time coincides with a 21% drop in heart attacks.]

Lack of sleep is said to be the cause of the spike in heart attacks. According to Business Insider, “Researchers estimate we’ll all deprive ourselves of an extra 40 minutes of sleep” due to the “spring-ahead” Daylight Savings Time.

Altering our sleep patterns, even this seemingly miniscule amount of time, can have seriously detrimental health consequences. Therefore, be sure to compensate for the shift in time. Try to go to sleep an hour earlier, or wake up an hour later, until your body adjusts to the shift in time. Consistently giving your body the proper amount of rest is extremely important.

Also, take into consideration that in addition to the heart-attack spike, the sleep deprivation caused by springtime Daylight Savings also reportedly causes an increase of serious accidents, on and off the road.

Be safe and be healthy.

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