Deprived Snoozers Alert: Rest Up for Daylight-Saving Time
Deprived Snoozers Alert: Rest Up for Daylight-Saving Time
March 30, 2001 (Washington) -- Set those clocks for daylight-saving time, ladies and gentlemen, but up that beauty sleep to the max. The snooze buster hits this Sunday at 2 a.m., when much of the nation "springs forward" -- though whether Americans will be springing out of bed Monday morning is debatable.
The U.S. Transportation Department says that DST saves energy, cuts crime, and prevents traffic injuries by upping the daylight quotient during the hours of most of our activity.
But the shift could be a rude April Fool's welcome for many, since it's going to potentially deprive sleepers of a badly needed hour of rest, and put most into the next work week already tired.
Neurologist Marc Schlosberg, MD, a sleep expert at Washington, D.C.'s, Washington Hospital Center, tells WebMD, "It is like traveling one hour time zone to the east. You are going to have a little bit of difficulty falling asleep at the right time Sunday night."
And sleep experts note that the one-hour shift seems to create a brief spike in traffic crashes the following day. According to published 1996 findings by Stanley Coren, PhD, professor at the University of British Columbia, "The spring shift to daylight-saving time ... resulted in an average increase in traffic accidents of approximately 8%. Small changes in the amount of sleep that people get can have major consequences in everyday activities."
Schlosberg says the collisions are probably attributable either to fatigue or rushed drivers who overslept after having a hard time getting to sleep.
According to a poll released earlier this week by the National Sleep Foundation, Americans already are over-tired. More than 60% of Americans don't get the recommended eight hours rest each night. Since the poll also showed that people like to get extra sleep on weekends, make sure you don't get shorted with the time switch this weekend.
"This is one time of year when lack of sleep actually makes a difference and could potentially be a safety problem," Schlosberg says. "Make sure that you are not chronically sleep deprived so that this doesn't take a larger toll than it should."
Deprived Snoozers Alert: Rest Up for Daylight-Saving Time
March 30, 2001 (Washington) -- Set those clocks for daylight-saving time, ladies and gentlemen, but up that beauty sleep to the max. The snooze buster hits this Sunday at 2 a.m., when much of the nation "springs forward" -- though whether Americans will be springing out of bed Monday morning is debatable.
The U.S. Transportation Department says that DST saves energy, cuts crime, and prevents traffic injuries by upping the daylight quotient during the hours of most of our activity.
But the shift could be a rude April Fool's welcome for many, since it's going to potentially deprive sleepers of a badly needed hour of rest, and put most into the next work week already tired.
Neurologist Marc Schlosberg, MD, a sleep expert at Washington, D.C.'s, Washington Hospital Center, tells WebMD, "It is like traveling one hour time zone to the east. You are going to have a little bit of difficulty falling asleep at the right time Sunday night."
And sleep experts note that the one-hour shift seems to create a brief spike in traffic crashes the following day. According to published 1996 findings by Stanley Coren, PhD, professor at the University of British Columbia, "The spring shift to daylight-saving time ... resulted in an average increase in traffic accidents of approximately 8%. Small changes in the amount of sleep that people get can have major consequences in everyday activities."
Schlosberg says the collisions are probably attributable either to fatigue or rushed drivers who overslept after having a hard time getting to sleep.
According to a poll released earlier this week by the National Sleep Foundation, Americans already are over-tired. More than 60% of Americans don't get the recommended eight hours rest each night. Since the poll also showed that people like to get extra sleep on weekends, make sure you don't get shorted with the time switch this weekend.
"This is one time of year when lack of sleep actually makes a difference and could potentially be a safety problem," Schlosberg says. "Make sure that you are not chronically sleep deprived so that this doesn't take a larger toll than it should."
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