On one hand, you're gaining an extra hour of sleep. On the flip side, the days get shorter and we say “hello darkness my old friend.”

In March 2023, health experts issued a wake-up call to Congress to make the change permanent.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) says public health and safety would benefit from eliminating Daylight Saving Time in favor of standard time. The AASM says the switch to permanent standard time would more closely align with the body’s internal clock – our circadian sleep-wake cycle – instead of disrupting the body’s natural rhythm.

There is also evidence that Daylight Saving Time can take a toll on your heart, specifically increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.

The AASM recommends getting at least seven hours of sleep before and after Daylight Saving Time begins while shifting your bedtime 15-20 minutes earlier each night before the change.

Dr. Frank Han is a cardiologist with OSF HealthCare who specializes in pediatric and adult congenital heart disease. He says poor sleeping habits can impact you negatively later in life.

“The act of waking up earlier without gradually changing your schedule can increase your stress hormones,” Dr. Han says. “If added on with unusual sleep schedules, night-shift work, then years down the road it can result in different kinds of cardiovascular diseases.”

Dr. Han adds it’s not just your sleeping habits that can put pressure on your heart. He recommends being aware of any hereditary heart issues that run in your family, and pay attention to lifestyle choices that can impact heart health.

“If that’s added on to less than optimal lifestyle habits, disturbed sleep schedule, disturbed circadian rhythm and other stressors in the lifestyle like tobacco. All of those factors added together can contribute to the hardening of the heart arteries and heart artery blockages as an adult,” Dr. Han says.

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If you’ve been feeling a little off and not yourself lately, you’re not alone. You might be experiencing seasonal affective disorder (SAD). To make matters worse, we turn the clocks back Sunday, November 2, as part of daylight saving time, which means it’s going to get darker one hour earlier.

“Seasonal affective disorder is also known as seasonal depression. It's a form of depression that occurs during different seasons,” says Erin Wojewodzki, APRN, a nurse practitioner with OSF HealthCare. “There's winter onset seasonal affective disorder, which typically begins during the fall months. And then there's a summer depression, where symptoms develop during spring and summer.”

In the United States, approximately 5% of adults experience SAD. It’s typically diagnosed between the ages of 18 to 30, and it's more common in women. People with a family history of mental health challenges or depression are more likely to experience SAD. And so do people who live in areas farther away from the equator and experience more cloudier days including Alaska, Vermont and New Hampshire.

There are a range of symptoms that come with SAD, from feeling a little anxious to much more serious issues that could require medical attention.  

“The symptoms of the winter onset SAD include symptoms such as depression, feelings of guilt, and a lack of desire to do those things that you typically love doing,” says Wojewodzki. “There's a carbohydrate craving, it can impact sleep, and there can be feelings of suicidal ideation or thoughts.” 

Experts aren’t sure what causes SAD. Most theories revolve around a lack of sunlight and sun exposure. 

“We have this biological clock within us that's used to so much sunlight in the wintertime – that changes,” says Wojewodzki. “It gets darker earlier, and that can impact our mood, our sleep, our hormones, and lead to some of these symptoms.” 

Another issue is vitamin D deficiency. Sunlight helps boost vitamin D, which helps improve serotonin levels. Serotonin is the hormone in charge of boosting mood. Low levels of serotonin can lead to depression.

Finally, melatonin is another hormone that impacts our sleep. When you lack sunlight it can affect your melatonin, which makes us sleepier and groggier, which is easy to do when it turns dark by late afternoon.

Talk to your health care provider 

There is no blood test or scan to diagnose SAD. Instead, your health care provider will discuss family history, review symptoms and may make a referral to a psychologist. Health care providers also use a patient questionnaire called PHQ-9, a tool that assesses degrees of depression.

“We look at things like, are you having symptoms of depression?” says Wojewodzki. “Are those symptoms of depression occurring during a specific time of the year, every year, and have those symptoms occurred two or more times during a specific season where you've experienced these feelings?” 

A treatment plan is tailored specifically for each patient. Wojewodzki says that plan might include light therapy that can boost serotonin. Getting outside as often as possible can help. Your provider may recommend taking Vitamin D supplements or prescribe antidepressant medications until spring arrives. Medication called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can improve mood by managing serotonin levels in your body. Finally, spend time with people you enjoy, which can boost your mood.

Dealing with changes that winter brings can be tough on anyone, especially those who suffer from SAD. But by sticking to your treatment plan, caring for yourself and planning ahead, Wojewodzki says malaise feelings can be overcome.

“If you are feeling symptoms of depression, isolation, sleep issues, gaining weight, not yourself, and especially feeling like harming yourself, I want you to reach out to your health care provider,” she says.  “We can discuss different options to you, whether that's medication or non-medication options to help you through this hard time.”

For more information on SAD or other behavioral health issues, visit the OSF HealthCare website. 



 

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Most of us like the idea of turning back time, figuratively … but not so much literally. Some people relish the idea of turning back clocks one hour, marking an end to Daylight Saving Time (DST) which officially happens at 2 a.m. this Sunday. But, if given the option, a 2020 study reveals a majority of adults (66%) support the elimination of seasonal time changes in support of a national, fixed, year-round time. The American Association of Sleep Medicine (AASM) study included more than 2,000 US adults.

The ending of daylight saving time means that the sun will be out earlier in the morning and the evenings will get darker sooner. OSF HealthCare Clinical Director of Sleep Medicine Dr. Kaninika Verma says research shows most people don’t make good use of the extra hour of sleep in the fall, but simply stay up later and watch a little more TV, play on their computers, or in some cases drink more alcohol because bars stay open later.

She says light has a huge impact on our body's circadian rhythm, otherwise known as a sleep/wake cycle. So when that changes, it throws the body out of sync. When we "fall back," Dr. Verma says stress hormones start booting up the body's systems hours in advance of waking and when the clock changes, they are out of sync.

"You've got more stress hormones than what you're used to for that time period because you're starting to wake up or your alarm clock is going off when you think you should be sleeping a little bit longer. So that's why we see that bump in the number of heart attacks around that time," she says.  

In fact, many scientists see an increased risk for heart attack and stroke during the days following a time change. In addition, studies show that traffic fatalities have increased as much as six percent in the first few days following the return to daylight saving time in the spring. Because of this, the AASM recommends federal legislation be enacted to adopt a permanent standard time.

Meanwhile, Dr. Verma suggests preparing for the time change by going to bed 15 minutes later each of the four days leading up to the change.

"If you want to switch your clock, do it in 15 minute increments and don't expect it to happen overnight. You can't just go to bed an hour ahead and expect it to work. It's just not going to happen," she advises.

So, if you go to bed at 9 p.m., she suggests starting to go at 9:15 p.m., then 9:30 p.m., then 9:45 p.m. and finally 10 p.m. which will then be your usual 9 p.m. sleep time when you set your clock back over the weekend.

Dr. Verma says sleep is not a luxury. It is a vital sign and not getting enough sleep, or getting poor-quality sleep, increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Sleep deprivation also hurts the body's immune system so you can get sick more easily.

At Home Sleep Study

If you've been hesitant to do anything about your trouble sleeping, this might be an incentive. Dr. Verma says technology has advanced so many people can do an at-home sleep study to determine if a more advanced study in a sleep lab is needed. A patient who meets certain criteria can take equipment home to record critical measurements.

"It's looking at air flow from the nose; how much air you're moving. Bands around the chest to see if you're moving. An oximeter to see what oxygen levels are and also there is a snore mic so we know if someone's storing, we can hear the snoring too."

Regardless of the twice a year movement of the clock by one hour, lots of people have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep. Between 50 and 70 million U.S. adults have some type of sleep or wakefulness disorder and the impact is affecting people’s quality of life.

Results from the world’s largest sleep study to date, involving 40,000 people from around the globe, found participants who slept four hours or less performed cognitively as if they were almost nine years older. Participants' reasoning and verbal abilities were two of the actions most strongly affected by sleep.

In addition to sleep apnea, OSF HealthCare Sleep Medicine doctors can evaluate conditions characterized by disturbances of sleep patterns and conditions such as restless leg syndrome or narcolepsy that can cause sleep abnormalities.

Many sleep disorders go undiagnosed and Dr. Verma points out that can affect not only your health, but personal relationships impacted by changes in mood, motivation and productivity. Learn more about sleep disorders to determine whether you should discuss sleep challenges with your primary care provider.

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