By Karen Stokes
Daylight saving time may impact your heart health.
Losing an extra hour of sleep may not be the worst thing that could happen when you “spring forward” at the start of daylight saving time. According to the American Heart Association, celebrating one hundred years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, scientific researchers have noticed a marked increase in heart attacks and strokes in the days following this time change each year.
Dr. Brittany Meyer, Pro Health Care (Photo/Pro Health Care)
“It can affect sleep from multiple clocks, and then aspects,” said Dr. Brittany Meyer, MD, ProHealth Care. “Our whole circadian rhythm is based on light, dark so having more sunlight especially in the evening can be kind of nice. It can make you a little less tired after work. However, on the flip side is waking up when it is dark so it can make it more difficult to get out of bed in the mornings and then it kind of shifts your sleep and wake time. It may take a week or two to set your internal clocks with it. Especially with this time of year, you lose an hour of sleep.”
According to a study of hospital admissions across the state of Michigan, there was a 24% increase in heart attacks on the Monday following the switch to daylight saving time. In a study from Finland, researchers found that the overall rate of ischemic stroke was 8% percent higher during the first two days after a daylight saving time transition.
“Sleep deprivation can really increase the risk of more accidents. It can affect high blood pressure, increase the risks of heart attack and strokes and people with sleep deprivation as well are more likely to have depression and it can also increase obesity, then obesity can lead to Type 2 diabetes. Not getting enough sleep at night can actually build up plaque in the arteries,” Dr. Meyer said.
“We know that the amount and the quality of sleep a person gets at any time of the year is essential to good health. That’s why the American Heart Association has added sleep to our Life’s Essential 8™, which is our equation of 4 health factors and 4 health behaviors that are needed for good cardiovascular health,” American Heart Association volunteer expert Maria Delgado-Lelievre, M.D. said.
The Association’s Life’s Essential 8 recommended ideal level of sleep is:
- 7-9 hours daily for adults;
- 8-10 hours daily for ages 13-18 years;
- 9-12 hours daily for ages 6-12 years; and
- 10-16 hours daily for ages 5 and younger.
“More than 1 in 3 adults do not get the recommended amount of sleep for heart health. It’s important to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern all year long, and there are some specific steps you can take to set yourself up for a good night’s rest,” Delgado-Lelievre said.
“Having a good sleep routine before bed no screen time like with phones, computers or tablets at least an hour before bedtime, no caffeine, after 3 in the afternoon and make sure you have a good sleep environment, quiet, play something with white noise, dark room on a little bit of the cooler side are all good things that you can do to improve sleep,” Dr. Meyer said. “Meditation breathing, visualization techniques, relaxation techniques in general are all really great. Another thing is making sure you’re getting at least 30 minutes of exercise a day can also have a huge improvement on your sleep as well as heart health. The only key to that is don’t do it within an hour before sleep because a lot of working out can give you a boost of energy.”
Learn more about the importance of sleep for heart health at heart.org.