AThe Americans of S prepare to move forward on Sunday, some could fear the imminent loss of an hour of sleep. In fact, more than half of American adults are now opposed to summer time, according to a recent Gallup survey – and reason could be supported by science. Experts say that the change of time is more than making the mornings a little more difficult, it has an impact on our health.
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“The change of spring leads to sleep deprivation on the scale of society,” explains Jennifer Martin, former president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine of the UCLA.
A great impact
Although losing an hour of sleep may not seem a major change, Martin says that this has a significant impact on our health – largely because most Americans are not already sufficiently sleeping. “Many Americans are already chronically deprived of sleep or suffer from sleep disturbances,” she said. “This additional disturbance amplifies one of the symptoms they already have.”
The time change also leads to other negative health impacts due to changes in our circadian pace. “Our circadian rhythm is our internal clock, and it is very closely linked to the 24 -hour day,” explains Martin. “”[Daylight saving] Really modifies the relationship between our internal clock and the external environment. »»
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Going to summer time for daylight means that our circadian rhythms are no longer aligned with the sun lifting and sunset – and that has an impact on our health. “When we are standard time, the hours of clarity are more closely aligned with our circadian rhythms,” explains Martin. This changes when the clocks go forward: “When we pass in summer time, it is dark later in the morning, and it is not good for our health and our overall well-being.”
The moving of front clocks has been known to exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and was also linked to an increase in heart attacks and strokes. The daylight scorry is associated with more traffic accidents, absenteeism and delay, explains Martin.
Mitigate the effects
While the experts recommend that you move your schedule by 15 minutes a day in the days preceding the time change, Martin says that the change is not easy to implement for most people. “It is impossible to do it, because nothing in society changes 15 minutes a day,” she says. “The way company changes [for daylight saving] is suddenly, overnight, one night. »»
Martin warns against the use of sleeping pills like melatonin. “Many of these agents make you sleep, and drowsiness is one of the problems with which people will have trouble anyway,” she said – adding that the residual impacts of sleep aid can affect your vigilance the next morning.
Instead, Martin simply recommends giving your body time to adapt to change. “This disturbance is biological,” she says. “This is not something that you can just overcome while trying stronger.”
