Daylight saving time may be bad for your health

Whether you like it or not, your alarm clock will be going off an hour earlier starting this weekend. Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. this Sunday.

Aside from making many people feel sleepier, studies show the change can also negatively affect your health.

A recent study found an 8 percent increase in strokes on the two days after daylight saving begins.

We talked Friday to Dr. David Dedrick, medical director of St. Charles Sleep Center, about why an hour makes a big difference.

“Even though it’s just one hour, it’s an hour shorter,” he said. “So instead of 24 hours to sustain yourself now you only have 23, when our physiology indicates that we need a little more than 24 hours.”

Dedrick said people may experience adverse effects from losing even an hour of sleep.

“The main consequence of not getting enough sleep is that of daytime sleepiness. With activities, of course, falling asleep at inappropriate times, including dangerous activities, like falling asleep while driving,” Dedrick said.

A study of data from the Fatal Accident Reporting System showed 17 percent more traffic fatalities on the Monday after clocks spring forward, and according to CNN studies also found an increase in heart attacks shortly after the change.

So what may seem like a small disturbance to our sleep cycle may be more serious. But Dedrick said there are things you can do to help.

“The biggest thing is to try to condition yourself beforehand,” he said. “So starting tonight, don’t stay up late, try to get to bed at a little earlier time, and try to wake up at a little earlier time, and try to get a lot of bright light exposure first thing in the morning.”

He said giving our bodies time to adjust is important. And make sure to consistently get seven to eight hours of sleep, to avoid serious problems down the line.