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Dangerous Daylight Savings Time

  • March 10, 2017

Daylight savings time (DST) is fast approaching. WebMD is finally getting onboard and recently reported on the harm inflicted by this biannual time change. Unfortunately, they understated the full impact of this unnecessary practice. 

Why is there day light savings time? There doesn't appear to be any good reason for this time tinkering in today's modern age, and a number of countries, and even regions within countries, have opted out of DST. 

The research is quite clear on the health effects of this meddling with time. There are spikes in both heart attacks and suicide in the days following daylight savings. Your circadian body clock (which is set by daylight and nighttime darkness) never adjusts to the gaining of an "extra" hour of sunlight. So you may actually remain slightly "off" for the entirety of the DST season.

There are some steps you can take to mitigate the damage inflicted by DST. As a general practice, the first step is always to optimize your vitamin D levels. Another common sense step is to adopt a diet of only nutritious, wholefoods that were sustainably sourced.

On DST weekend, ease into the change by waking up 30 minutes early on both Saturday and Sunday of DST weekend while also making sure you sleep a full 8-9 hours. It is also a great time to embrace better sleep hygiene. Create an environment of total darkness with no lights or distractions. Turn off electronic devices early. To protect your eyes from these blue light emitting screens, I strongly recommend donning a pair of blue blocker sunglasses when indoors and when outside.