Get ready to spring those clocks ahead
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on March 8, 2025.
Herald file photo -
Daylight Saving Time happens at 2 a.m. Sunday when clocks turn forward an hour.LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Welcome back to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, when a lot of people may wake up realizing they forgot to turn the clocks on walls, stoves, wrists and SUVs ahead an hour.
It’s that semi-annual time of year when sleep patterns are once again disrupted because of a time change whose value is hotly disputed among many.
But regardless of personal opinions, DST is happening at 2 a.m. Sunday when clocks turn forward – either with human help or on their own – one hour.
That means we’re all going to be losing an hour of sleep and when early risers awaken, the day should be already lighter – depending, of course, upon when the waking hour actually is. And if it’s 4 a.m. some of you may be crossing paths with some semblance of light during your morning runs.
In Canada, most provinces employ DST and ditto across the United States and Europe so Lethbridge residents won’t be alone if they groggily ask “does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?”
After all, it’s Sunday, and unless a person is working an early shift or is in a rush, theoretically that lost hour can be compensated for by snuggling up a bit longer with Fifi or Fido. In theory.
But for everyone else, it means changing clocks either before going to sleep – perhaps an hour earlier – or doing the deed upon waking sleepily and not ready for the sleep disruption.
And time changes can cause disruption to health.
According to the Association of Migraine Disorders, people with migraines or cluster headaches are more likely to experience problems after a time change.
“There are several factors at play, and many of them are intertwined,” says the association. “Changes in circadian rhythm, sleep disruptions, hormones, changes in routine, stress, and a person’s susceptibility to headache all play a role,” says the association.
Circadian rhythm, says the association, is the main culprit behind issues with headaches after the time changes.
“When our body experiences a time change, our circadian rhythm gets disrupted, which, in turn, affects our sleep-wake cycle and release of hormones. These disruptions work together to contribute to headaches,” it notes.
But people prone to headaches aren’t the only ones who can be impacted.
The University of Guelph in Ontario says changes to circadian rhythms can lead to sleep disturbances as well as fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate – and contribute to those aforementioned headaches.
“The abrupt shift in time causes a mismatch between internal and external processes, potentially impairing overall health,” says professor Tami Martino in a university posting on the subject.
“People can also experience changes to their appetite or digestion,” notes the professor, who states that most people need a day or two to recover from the effect of time change with younger people tending to adjust quicker than those with chronic health conditions, stress or sleep disorders who may require longer adjustment periods.
Harvard Medical School in the U.S. disrupted sleep can cause people to become less focused which it says may contribute to the six per cent increase in vehicle accidents that occur after the spring time change.
Poor sleep can also impact existing conditions including anxiety, seasonal affective disorder and depression.
How does a person prepare for DST? By going to bed a earlier than normal starting a few days before the time change, say experts, starting with about 15 minutes earlier with the goal of 20 to 30 minutes the night before what Hardy Boys author Franklin W. Dixon might have called a book “While the Clock Ticked Late – or Early.”
And another tip for reducing the impact of DST is to cut back booze consumption – cheers to that, maybe or maybe not – and caffeine in days prior to the disruption.
22-21
what an ongoing waste – micromanagement to nowhere.
might we agree that we could one time, one time only, could we just split the difference and either spring forward a half hour in the spring or fall back a half hour in the fall, just the once, and leave it alone thereafter.