Studies have shown that heart attacks, fatal accidents and strokes increase after Daylight Saving Time begins. Here’s how to protect your health

WASHINGTON (AP) – Much of America is “springing ahead” on Sunday. summertime and losing that hour of sleep can do greater than just make you drained and grumpy the following day. It may harm your health.

Darker mornings and more evening light mix to disrupt your body clock, which implies daylight saving time could cause sleep problems for weeks or longer. Studies have even shown an increase within the variety of heart attacks and strokes immediately after the March time change.

There are ways to make the adjustment easier, resembling providing more sunlight to reset your circadian rhythm and promote healthy sleep.

“As with traveling across multiple time zones, the time it may take varies greatly from person to person,” said Dr. Eduardo Sanchez of the American Heart Association. “Understand that your body is changing.”

When does summer time start?

Daylight saving time begins on Sunday at 2 a.m., which is when bedtime ends in many of the United States. The ritual shall be reversed on November 3, when the clocks “turn back” at the top of daylight saving time.

Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t make a spring change, sticking to standard time year-round, as do Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Around the world, dozens of nations also observe daylight saving time, starting and ending on different dates.

Some people try to prepare for the shock of Daylight Savings Time by going to bed a bit earlier two or three nights before. With one-third of American adults not getting the really helpful seven hours of sleep an evening, it could possibly be difficult to catch up.

What happens to your brain when the weather is lighter?

There is a master clock within the brain that is ready by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that determines once we develop into sleepy and once we are more alert. Patterns change with age, which is one reason why early-maturing children develop into difficult-to-awaken teenagers.

The morning light resets the rhythm. In the evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to rise rapidly, causing drowsiness. Too much light within the evening – that extra hour from daylight saving time – retards this growth and the cycle gets out of sync.

Lack of sleep has been linked to heart disease, cognitive impairment, obesity and many other problems. And this circadian clock affects not only sleep, but additionally heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.

How does time change affect your health?

According to a study of traffic fatalities within the US, there have been temporary road accidents in the primary few days after the spring time change. The risk was highest within the morning, and researchers attributed it to lack of sleep.

Then there may be the cardiac connection. The American Heart Association points to research that suggests an increase in heart attacks on the Monday after Daylight Saving Time and strokes within the two days after.

Doctors already know that heart attacks, especially severe ones, occur barely more often on Mondays and within the morning, when the blood is more susceptible to clots.

It’s unclear why Monday’s call can be affected by the point change, Sanchez said, although there’s likely something in regards to the sudden disruption of circadian rhythms that exacerbates aspects resembling hypertension in people already in danger.

How to prepare for summer time

On Friday and Saturday nights, go to bed a bit earlier and try to get more morning light. Sleep experts advise that changing your every day routine, resembling meal time or exercise, can even help your body begin to adapt.

Afternoon naps and caffeine, in addition to the evening light of phones and other electronic devices, could make it even tougher to adjust to an earlier bedtime.

Stay up to date: Some health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said it is time to do away with time switches and that sticking to standard time year-round higher suits the sun – and human biology.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. AP is solely chargeable for all content.