By Dr. Manoj Sharma-

Dr. Sharma is a Professor and Chair of the Social and Behavioral Health Department and an Adjunct Professor in Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He is a global expert in health promotion.
Every year the United States reverts its time by one hour in Fall and forward in Spring. This year daylight saving time (DST) ends on November 3, 2024. This shift hurts health in several ways. The impact is more pronounced in Spring and Fall is somewhat less troublesome. However, both time adjustments are problematic.
Studies have shown that when the time change occurs in Spring and the clock moves one hour ahead, the risk of heart attacks and strokes increases. The same is true of car accidents and hospitalizations which increase in the week following the adjustment in Spring. The very obvious impact of this change is on sleep patterns and circadian rhythm (our internal clock) for everyone which alters with time change. As a result, there are mood disturbances, lowered immunity, restlessness, anxiety, and generalized malaise experienced by many at both time adjustments. It is a challenge for those on medications like insulin pumps as the biannual clock change often makes them incorrectly schedule the timing of their dose which causes problems. Studies have confirmed that this misalignment of sleep patterns lasts for the entire duration of the DST. It is well established that less sleep is detrimental to health and DST accentuates this problem.
There are individual-level solutions as well as environmental-level policy solutions to address this problem of time change. At the individual level, during Fall adjustment, in the days leading up to the time change, one must:
- Gradually adjust one’s sleep and wake times. The bedtime must be shifted by 15 to 20 minutes later each night for a few nights before the time change.
- Set the clocks behind one hour the night before.
- Eliminate distractions before going to bed.
- Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
- Expose oneself to sunlight upon waking which will help regulate the morning routine and restore the circadian rhythm.
- Adjust mealtimes accordingly.
At the policy level, policymakers are trying innovative ways to address this problem. There is the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 (S. 623) which has passed the Senate but has not yet been enacted. This bill will make the DST the new permanent standard time. This Act can potentially lead to a permanent misalignment of our circadian rhythm and would be bad for our health. DST should be abolished completely instead of having a permanent DST. This is also the view of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, as published in a Policy Paper, in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. The Academy advocates for a fixed, national, year-round standard time. We must also support this change for a national standard time which will go a long way in improving our health.