Shifting time one hour earlier results to one 25-hour day, which not only affects routines but also biological clocks. This is in relation to the one hour of sleep most people in the U.S. are deprived of due to daylight savings.
This is an occurrence twice a year when the body's rhythm is altered. Studies have found that people are more prone to heart attacks during this time.
This is because human physiological and metabolic functions are cyclic and follow a master clock in the brain. This happens unconsciously without a person having to pay any attention to it. The sleep and waking cycle, the feeding rhythm, the body temperature and other functions in the body follow this cycle, according to Paolo Sassone-Corsi, director of the Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism at the University of California-Irvine.
Health experts say that to live a healthy life, it is very important to live in sync with one's body clock as well as keep that clock in sync with the sun. According to the USA Today, there are a few simple steps to keep in sync with the bodies and keep disease at bay.
Sleep and wakeup at a scheduled time
It is very important to follow a routine sleep schedule. This would ensure that the body is very well rested. But going to sleep and getting up at the same time is important, too, according to Charles Czeisler the Chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. Sleep has a structure which has to be maintained with a predictable rhythm. If this rhythm is disturbed, people will find it difficult to fall asleep, and they will wake up feeling lethargic all the time, adds Czeisler.
Listen to one's body
There are people who stay awake past midnight and will awaken mid-mornings while others can sleep and wake up early. Natalie Dautovich, an environmental scholar with the National Sleep Foundation and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, says that people should find a schedule that allows them to sleep when they are tired, wake fresh, and work when they are alert. This will go a long way in keeping the body healthy.
Get morning light
According to Dautovich, it is always good to get morning light or bright light. The most effective is the outside light but getting breakfast in a well lit room near a window is enough. People who are early risers and those who are prone to depression during winter should get a light box. This is because morning light alerts the body clock that another day has begun.
Evening light should be dim
To ensure that melatonin, a hormone that causes sleep, is not suppressed due to too much light, lights should be dimmed in the evening. This would mean staying away from the lights of the TV, computers and phones. It would be good to keep these gadgets away for at least two hours before sleep, according to Czeisler.
Make bedtime a routine
Anything that helps a person relax before going to bed, like reading a book, is always good. Having a warm bath not only works for babies but also for adults and elders, according to Shalini Paruthi, director of the Pediatric Sleep and Research Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, St. Louis.
Stay away from midnight snacking
Czeisler says that eating late in the night after the melatonin release begins is linked to increased risk of diabetes and obesity. The body has a rhythm to metabolize food at different times of the day. So having a burger at midnight is definitely not good.
Night shifts
Last but not the least, people who work in shifts tend to go against the body rhythm. They change every pattern of the body from eating to sleeping at odd hours. According to studies this is linked to heart attacks, cancer, depression and injuries at work, diabetes and obesity. Most of the time shifts cannot be eliminated but, according to Czeisler, awareness needs to increase and studies on health solutions need to be done.
