Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend

“Losing an hour” may not seem like much, but it is a disruptive event that goes against nature and our internal body clock, generally causing an increase in traffic accidents, heart attacks and all kinds of errors in the days and weeks following.

How can this change of time cause such a problem?

Adjusting to this change puts stress on the body’s clock, which is an important regulating part of our brain.

What can we do about it?

To better manage the change:

1. If you are self-employed or are able to set your own hours, make changes to your daily start time gradually over a few weeks.
2. If you are now naturally waking up (without an alarm) at 7:00 am, your natural wake-up time could make you late, compared to the clock time. Forcing your body to change to DST in one night can cause you to feel tired, disoriented and out of sync with your natural rhythm. Gradually, over a few weeks, not just one night, use an alarm to wake closer to Daylight Savings Time.
   Recommended adjusting in 15-minute increments until you are back to your usual 7:00 am wake-up time.
3. Another way to adjust your body’s clock is to start going to bed earlier over a few weeks.
4. If you do not have the flexibility to when you start your day:
   Go to bed earlier
   Find a way to take a power nap mid-day
   Allow more flex time during your day in-between appointments or
   activities to take off the stress
5. Your Blood Sugar levels can also be affect by the change.  Again, allow a couple of weeks for your body to make adjustments by adding in healthy snacks or eating earlier.