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Is Daylight Saving Time Bad For You?

Posted by Soulskill on from the what-doesn't-kill-you-makes-you-late-for-work dept.

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."

3 of 333 comments (clear)

  1. Lengthening the Blanket... by kenwd0elq · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Lengthening the Blanket... by kenwd0elq · · Score: 5, Interesting
      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.

  2. Re:Yep by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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