Hate summer time? Here’s how it can affect your physical and mental health

If you hate daylight saving time, you’re not alone. According to a 2023 YouGov poll, 62% of American adults would like to stop setting their clocks forward and back every year. However, when asked to choose fixed time over daylight saving time, the majority do not: 50% would like permanent daylight saving time, 31% want permanent standard time, 12% have no preference and 7% are unsure of their answer.

First coined by Benjamin Franklin, daylight saving time refers to the practice of setting clocks forward one hour during the spring months (usually March or April) and setting clocks back one hour in the fall. The purpose of this was to provide one extra hour of daylight in the evening during the summer months, while also providing the same courtesy on winter mornings. In turn, people could save more energy by using sunlight.

These changes can have a significant impact on our health. Johns Hopkins notes that during the summer, people experience more stress, deaths from traffic accidents, hospitalizations due to serious health effects such as strokes and heart attacks, and more.

Our guide goes into detail about how daylight saving time affects your body from a mental and physical perspective. We’ll also cover how it affects your physical activity and how to prepare your body for it.

The impact of daylight saving time on mental health

One of the biggest consequences of daylight saving time is lack of sleep, especially when you’re rushing ahead. When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, the frontal lobe of the brain is affected. Think of your frontal lobe as your best friend, preventing you from acting impulsively. Well, when you don’t sleep well or don’t get enough sleep, it affects your frontal lobe’s ability to make good decisions. Thus, you are more likely to make impulsive decisions.

Meanwhile, when you get some snow in the last months of the year, your body doesn’t get as much sunlight. When this happens, your body can’t produce enough serotonin, a mood-boosting chemical. In turn, you feel like your energy is depleted and you may be more susceptible to mood swings, which can put you at risk of depression. The AARP found that when people turned back the clock in the fall, depression rates increased by 11%.

The impact of daylight saving time on physical health

There is ample evidence that daylight saving time affects not only mental health, but also physical health. Let’s start with your sleep cycle. In the spring, when you set your clocks forward an hour, it can throw off your body’s internal clock because you’re going to bed later and waking up earlier than usual. It doesn’t go away on its own. This can last as long as daylight saving time.

Changes in hormonal regulation

This rhythm disturbance can manifest itself in other ways. When you change your clocks to daylight saving time, it affects your body’s ability to rhythmically produce melatonin. The reason for this is that your body is accustomed to producing melatonin when it gets dark outside. If you go to bed early but it’s still light when you go to bed, it can affect your body’s ability to produce it. When your body doesn’t produce enough melatonin, it leads to other health problems such as sleep disturbances, mood swings, increased anxiety, and an increased estrogen to progesterone ratio.

Increased risk of heart problems

Because you sleep less due to daylight saving time, it is not uncommon to see an uptick in heart problems immediately after daylight saving time changes. Research has shown that there is an increase in heart attacks and strokes in the first two weeks after the clock switch, with the highest risk occurring in the first three weekdays after the switch. Because your body sleeps less, it produces more stress. Additionally, because daylight saving time disrupts circadian rhythms, it can increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and production of the stress hormone cortisol. The good news is that after the first two weeks of the time transition, the risk of heart problems such as strokes or heart attacks decreases.

Effect on metabolism and weight regulation

DST can also slow down metabolism and produce hunger hormones such as leptin and ghrelin. Hunger hormones are released when your body doesn’t get enough sleep—say, seven to nine hours a night. These hormones also don’t direct you to the produce section of the grocery store. This can cause cravings for high calories, which can make it difficult to manage your weight.

Impact of Daylight Saving Time on Daily Activities and Productivity

Since your body may have trouble adapting to daylight saving time, it’s not surprising that you may experience a drop in efficiency during it. This occurs due to lack of sleep as daylight saving time throws off your body’s internal clock. In turn, Entrepreneur found an increase in cyberloafing on the Monday following daylight saving time. Because you’re tired, your body spends more time doing low-impact activities like surfing the web.

Impact on training regimen and physical activity level

Daylight saving time also affects physical activity. Because you may be more tired due to lack of sleep, you may be less likely to do more strenuous exercise, which can improve your physical and mental health. Additionally, since your body may be sleep deprived, it may produce higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. High cortisol levels can lead to rapid weight gain, muscle weakness, and high blood pressure.

Changes in social interactions and relationships

The Wall Street Journal found that daylight saving time can also negatively impact our relationships. Think about when you don’t get enough sleep: you tend to be more irritable, react quickly, and don’t listen to people. This creates a tense situation in which you may get into more arguments with loved ones, colleagues and friends.

Even worse, you might get back together. When you’re tired, you’re less likely to participate in social events because you’re already tired, and the thought of attending them causes even more stress.

Impact of Daylight Saving Time on Vulnerable Populations

Children and teenagers

There are certain age groups that are affected by daylight saving time more than most others. Let’s start with children and teenagers. Since children have to go to school early, this can result in many having problems with sleep deprivation when you move the clocks forward. Their bodies are not used to feeling lighter before bed. Thus, they may not fall asleep when they need to. When they don’t get enough sleep, they experience drowsiness, increased mood swings, and an inability to concentrate.

Meanwhile, in the fall they also do not get enough sunlight, since they spend most of the day at school. This leads to decreased serotonin levels, making children and teenagers more susceptible to depression.

Elderly people

Just like children, older adults also experience sleep problems due to daylight saving time. For this reason, it is important to avoid driving when you are sleep deprived because your body’s frontal lobe does not process information quickly enough, leading to impulsive decisions that can increase the risk of traffic accidents. In addition, it is also important to observe the timing of meals and medications. As people get older, they can become increasingly confused about what time it is, depending on their changing environment.

Persons with pre-existing conditions

Daylight saving time can worsen existing health problems by increasing risk factors. To demonstrate: If you have higher blood pressure, daylight saving time may affect the quality of your sleep. Over time, this can increase your heart rate and further increase your blood pressure, increasing your risk of stroke. That’s why if you have an underlying medical condition, it’s important to talk to your doctor about how to mitigate the effects of daylight saving time.

Tips for preparing for daylight saving time

Let’s start with when Daylight Saving Time will begin in 2024. It begins on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 2 am and ends on Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 2 am. Knowing this information in advance can help you take steps to prepare. your body to the changes it will face.

• Set a sleep schedule: Because of this, as you approach moving your clocks forward an hour, prepare your sleep schedule accordingly. Start going to bed 15–20 minutes earlier every night. Start a few weeks before you set your clock and increase each week in 15-20 minute increments until you go to bed an hour earlier. This may seem trivial at first, but it also prepares your body for the time change.
• Eliminate distractions: Don’t eat spicy food, drink coffee, or play on your phone right before you go to bed. Instead, take time to relax, read a book, or rest.
• Set up your workouts to get as much sun as possible: If you are used to taking long afternoon walks in the spring and summer, change that to morning walks in the fall and winter. This will allow you to get more sunlight, increasing serotonin production.
• Set meal times: If you are used to having dinner at 7 pm, before you move the time forward, continue to move forward at the same time. Similar to your sleep schedule, adjust your meal times 15 to 20 minutes apart as you approach Daylight Saving Time.
• Find creative opportunities: Winter is harsh because there is little sunshine and it can be easy to feel isolated and depressed. If you don’t have the opportunity to exercise outside, find a creative hobby that allows you to focus on something else with a specific goal in mind. Achieving goals is a great way to increase dopamine and serotonin, which can prevent anxiety and depression.