 |
Did you know the practice of moving the clocks ahead one hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall is called “daylight saving time” not “daylight savings time,” as most people refer to it? Or that Arizona and Hawaii (along with the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) don’t observe daylight saving time (DST)? Whether you knew these DST facts or not, what’s more important to know is most Americans will set their clocks back one hour on Sunday, Nov. 6 and there are ways to overcome the physical and mental tolls DST can take on our bodies.“Daylight saving time affects our circadian rhythm because our body uses signals from our environment, such as daylight, to emit hormones that regulate the sleep-wake cycle daily,” explained Bayhealth Primary Care Physician Alexys Daut, MD. “Changing the time we regularly do things, even by an hour, affects our feedback system that keeps the sleep-wake cycle and our circadian rhythm running smoothly. In order to manage our bodies’ reaction to the change, gradually adjusting our habits can help.”
