Is Daylight Saving Time Bad For You?

Hugh Pickens writes "According to experts on circadian rhythms, the hour shift in sleep schedule from Daylight Saving Time can have serious effects on some people's health, particularly in people with certain pre-existing health problems. One study found that men were more likely to commit suicide during the first few weeks of Daylight Saving Time (DST) than at any other time during the year, and another study showed that the number of serious heart attacks jumps 6% to 10% on the first three workdays after DST begins. Dr. Xiaoyong Yang, an assistant professor of comparative medicine and cellular and molecular physiology at Yale University, theorizes that shifts in biologic rhythms could trigger harmful inflammatory or metabolic changes at the cellular level, to which these individuals may be more susceptible."

Comments

People who travel?

[ramk13]

How does this compare to people who travel one time zone over, let alone multiple time zones? Aren't these people (millions) in worse shape?

Re:People who travel?

[_0xd0ad]

DST is something that's imposed by the government and cannot easily be avoided if you're in an area that observes it.

You could always move. Arizona doesn't observe DST.

Some people move to dry or warm climates for reasons related to health. This isn't really that much different.

Lengthening the Blanket...

[kenwd0elq]

I saw an editorial cartoon perhaps 30 years ago. In the cartoon, Richard Nixon is depicted sitting in a rocking chair saying "I need to make this blanket longer, so that we can stay warm in the winter. So I'll cut one foot of the blanket off at one end, and sew it onto the other end." That's everything you need to know about Daylight Savings Time.

Re:Lengthening the Blanket...

[kenwd0elq]

When I was in the Navy, I spent a couple of years on Bermuda. (I know; a TOUGH assignment!) Bermuda doesn't (did not?) do DST. Instead, many businesses did "summer working hours"; come to work at 7 AM, no lunch break, and then close at 2 PM. If many employers offered flextime, or people could break out of the clock-watching habit, then they could have the benefits of DST all year long.

The only thing "daylight savings time" does is force, by government decree, that EVERYBODY must do this at the SAME time, in lockstep.

The problem is psychological, not physiological

[grizdog]

The problem with DST is the free lunch mentality that goes with it. It was the first response of Congress to the "energy crisis" of the early 70's, and has remained the solution of choice for similar problems ever since. People genuinely believe they are getting "an extra hour of daylight", and expect other little bonuses to be handed to them just as painlessly. Sorry for the rant, but it's long been a pet peeve of mine.

Re:The problem is psychological, not physiological

[martin-boundary]

Of course they're getting an extra hour of daylight. I can't believe your post was marked insightful. Way to miss the point.

Sure it's trivial that the number of physical hours of daylight in a 24 hour period doesn't change by changing the clocks, but that's never been the reason to do so. The reason is that people's lives are regulated by clocks. They get to work at 9, and leave at 5, or whatever the hours are. That also means they sleep during the "night" that's defined by those clocks.

The point of daylight savings is that the work hours and night hours are shifted, so that during the period when they are awake and working and living, the amount of daylight is, actually, truly, increased. Also, during the period when the clocks say it's time to sleep, the amount of darkness is increased.

Daylight savings is a great idea, and will continue to be a great idea for as long as human societies are using clocks to synchronize economic activity.

It didn't used to be like that. In medieval or ancient times, people's days started at dawn and ended at sunset, and that was the economic regulator. They didn't have appointments at ten, meetings at two, eight working hours etc. Instead they had longer work days in summer, shorter work days in winter, and meetings around midday, plus or minus a few hours.

I can't believe I have to spell this out on slashdot.

Re:The problem is psychological, not physiological

[phoenix_rizzen]

Except that it's all backwards.

In the spring, we should be moving the clocks *back* an hour. That way, it would actually be dark outside before midnight in the summer, allowing us to actually sleep in *darkness*.

Then, in the fall, we should be moving the clocks *ahead* an hour, so that it's actually light outside when we wake up, and it's *still* light outside when we are done work, giving us more "after work daylight".

The current "daylight savings rules" are completely bass-ackwards!

Semi Annual DST rant

[Rob the Bold]

I think the best part of DST is the opportunity to have this semi-annual anti-DST rant-fest. It's better than sunlight!

Re:Yep

[Xtifr]

If it's really a health issue, why adjust your sleep schedule to match the changing clock? Can't you simply get up an hour earlier during winter?

Hi

[bmo]

My name is BMO and I live in Rhode Island. We here in the Northeast US are far enough east that during the winter, we go to work in the dark and we come home in the dark. Unless you have windows in your office or stock room or machine shop, or whatever, you never see the sun except on weekends. It's like being divorced and having partial custody - of sunlight.

The Eastern time zone is so wide that it stretches all the way to the Eastern border of Illinois. This is just nuts. When DST finally shows up in March, suddenly the sun sets at a reasonable hour.

New England and NY should secede from the Union and join the Maritime Provinces simply to get a sane time zone.

I'm sorry for ranting, but I'm tired of my Seasonal Affective Disorder and I can't wait for DST to get here. See? My SAD is showing!

--
BMO

Re:Yep

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm already waking up before the crack of noon. I don't know how much earlier you expect me to get up.