Changing the clocks in your house is easy; Changing your biological clock is not as easy

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

You noticed last week that you, and other people at work, were making a lot of mistakes, more than usual. You also noticed that you might have felt distracted and at times less productive. Everything that your husband/wife said to you last week seemed to irritate you, and those little buggers (your children) were on your last nerves. Another interesting thing you noted was the fact that there were frequent car accidents on the road, even more than usual driving on the streets in Toronto.

Are these a coincidence?

Nope! Our bodies are telling us something. Changing the clocks in your house is easy.

Changing your biological clock is not as easy. Just like a cell phone that sets its clock to a signal from the phone company, your internal clock synchronizes to signals in the environment. Our body’s strongest signal is light: sunlight and artificial light.

This is why sleep experts and other scientists are calling for the end of daylight saving time (DST), saying clocks should be forever set on standard time — as happens in Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the U.S. territories. That would provide more hours of morning daylight, for adults and kids alike, thereby more properly setting the body’s circadian system.

I recently read an article by Robert Roy Britt, Author of “Make Sleep Your Superpower: A Guide to Greater Health, Happiness & Productivity,” and I learned a few things that I did not know about time change. The biannual time changes trace back to World War I. It was aimed at saving fuel and lengthening the work day, but ironically research suggests the changes don’t have that same effect anymore.

Research now shows that our internal clock is better aligned with the sun clock when we are under Standard Time. This is particularly pronounced in the winter. Switching permanently to Standard Time would mean people wake up in the dark, before sunrise, much less often than with the current time-change scheme or with a switch to permanent DST. Standard Time provides a better opportunity to get the right duration of high-quality, restful sleep on a regular basis, which in turn improves our cognition, mood, cardiovascular health, and overall well-being.

When your natural body clock is in sync with the sun, it suppresses production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin in the morning to help make you alert during the day, and then primes the release of melatonin as darkness sets in each evening.

So, just how much outdoor time is needed to get your body clock in order? There are no set instructions for how much outdoor daylight you need, but some experts recommend at least two hours, if you can get it.

We have always seen setting the clocks back an hour as an opportunity to grab some extra shut-eye, sure, but payback comes with the next jump forward. What we find when you spring forward is an annual spike in car crashes and heart attacks.

The Sleep Care Foundation offered some great tips to help deal with the shift until they decide whether to keep it or scrap it:

In the days and weeks leading up to time changes, you can prepare yourself for the adjustment by taking the following precautions:

Learn and practice good sleep hygiene: This includes refraining from drinking alcohol before bed and avoiding heavy dinners and snacks right before bedtime.

Establish a consistent sleep routine: This means going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, and yes, this includes the weekends.

Prepare for the change: Two to three days before the transition between Standard Time and DST in early March, sleep experts recommend waking up 15-20 minutes earlier than usual. Then, on the Saturday before the time change, set your alarm clock back by an additional 15-20 minutes. Adjusting your wake-up time can help the body make a smoother transition when the time change occurs.

Spend more time outdoors: Natural light is a driving force behind our body clock; spending time outside during the day also suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone released in the evening to help you feel tired and ready for bed.

Take naps: You can find relief by taking short naps during the day, but these naps should not exceed 20 minutes in length.

No caffeine close to bedtime: Studies have found caffeine consumed within six hours of bedtime can disrupt your sleep cycle.