How daylight saving time throws off your body clock

AccuWeather

It's easy to reset your clock back an hour, but resetting your internal body clock isn't always as simple. Dr. Brian Chen shares tips on how to deal with daylight saving time.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 Welcome back to AccuWeather Early.

00:05 Thanks for watching on this Friday morning.

00:08 I'm Bernie Raynaud.

00:09 - And I'm Brie Guy.

00:10 Bernie, you know what time of year it is?

00:13 - It's fall.

00:14 - Yes. - It's football season.

00:16 - But then it's also time to set our clocks back.

00:19 I know we've been talking about it all morning.

00:21 - And it's easy to reset your clock back an hour,

00:24 but resetting your internal body clock

00:27 isn't always as simple.

00:30 With tips on how to make this weekend's

00:31 daylight saving time change a little easier

00:34 is Dr. Brian Chen.

00:35 He's a neurologist with the Cleveland Clinic

00:38 Sleep Disorder Center.

00:40 Boy, he would make a killing with you and I.

00:42 - I know. - Sleep disorder, right?

00:43 All right, thanks.

00:44 He is joining us this morning.

00:46 And Dr. Chen, thanks so much

00:48 for taking time out of your day.

00:49 This is a big topic of discussion.

00:51 And what's the most common difficulty

00:55 people experience with daylight saving time to change?

00:59 - Yeah, thanks for having me, Bernie.

01:01 So the main thing is when you set your clock back,

01:04 like you mentioned, your body clock

01:06 doesn't wanna agree with it.

01:08 So our bodies run on a 24-hour cycle,

01:12 and it's controlled by the light and darkness.

01:14 And so when we change that,

01:17 the amount of light that we get

01:18 and the amount of darkness we have,

01:20 our brain has to adjust to it and it can take time.

01:23 Usually people don't do too bad with the fall back time.

01:26 It's more the spring forward

01:28 that we have to watch out for.

01:29 Getting an extra hour of sleep is usually really nice,

01:32 and people tend to like that.

01:34 We're a sleep-deprived nation.

01:35 More than half of us don't get enough hours of sleep.

01:38 However, there are some people who can't drive,

01:41 say, at nighttime, so just keep in mind

01:43 that it's gonna get a little darker a little earlier.

01:45 So plan your schedules out accordingly.

01:47 And as we go into winter,

01:49 it'll get darker and darker earlier and earlier.

01:51 So keep that in mind.

01:53 Now, everybody should try to get a little bit more sleep.

01:56 That's always helpful.

01:56 And falling back should help with that.

01:59 - Very good point there, Dr. Chen.

02:02 And I mean, it's only an hour, right?

02:04 That's what people say.

02:05 But how can that single hour change,

02:07 impact people in different ways?

02:09 - Oh, good point.

02:11 So some people are night owls.

02:14 They like to stay up late and wake up later.

02:17 This kind of benefits those people.

02:19 But some people are morning larks.

02:20 They like to go to bed early and wake up early,

02:23 especially little kids.

02:24 And maybe you get an extra hour of sleep, hypothetically,

02:29 but really you don't,

02:30 because if you're already waking up

02:31 before your alarm clock,

02:33 then a change in the clock

02:35 isn't gonna affect your internal clock.

02:38 So keep that in mind.

02:40 Now, the other thing is as seasons change,

02:42 as we go into the fall and then wintertime,

02:45 it gets colder and darker outside,

02:47 that can affect many things within our body,

02:50 unconscious to us.

02:51 It affects the timing of our sleep

02:53 and wake cycles, of course,

02:54 but it can affect our energy levels,

02:56 our fatigue levels.

02:57 And so if you feel fatigue

02:59 or you feel like you're sleeping more,

03:01 and that could be a sign of seasonal depression

03:04 or other mood changes,

03:06 or it could be a sleep disorder,

03:07 things that we at the Clinic Sleep Disorder Center

03:11 treat and help you analyze and try to fix.

03:13 - Yeah, Dr. Chan,

03:15 and how do you prepare to lessen the impact, if you will?

03:19 What should you do leading up to Sunday?

03:21 - Good point.

03:23 It's never too late.

03:24 I mean, Sunday's coming up real soon,

03:25 but if you can shift your schedule a little bit at a time,

03:30 gradual change is a little bit better than an abrupt change.

03:33 Everybody should try to get a little bit more sleep,

03:36 at least most people that applies to in our society.

03:40 Generally, people, adults need seven and a half

03:43 to eight and a half,

03:44 maybe a little bit more,

03:45 maybe a little bit less hours of sleep,

03:47 and we're always on the less side, it seems.

03:49 So if you can get even just 15 to 20 minutes more sleep,

03:53 that would be very helpful.

03:55 Now, when the clocks change,

03:56 keep in mind that your body's gonna adjust to that change.

03:59 So if you go to bed earlier on a Saturday night,

04:03 and then you wake up later on Sunday,

04:05 great, you had an extra hour of sleep.

04:07 But if on Sunday night,

04:08 you go to bed at your normal bedtime

04:10 and not the time that it was on Saturday,

04:12 you might still,

04:14 you've completely eliminated that extra hour gain.

04:17 So if you can use this time change

04:19 to gain even a fraction of sleep,

04:21 15 minutes, 20 minutes of sleep,

04:23 and keep that habit going,

04:24 that could result in some lifelong benefit.

04:28 If people, the research is showing

04:30 that people who don't get enough sleep,

04:32 less than say seven hours on a regular basis,

04:34 are at increased risk of heart attack, obesity,

04:37 and more research is showing even long-term aging effects,

04:40 including Alzheimer's disease.

04:42 - And Dr. Chen, really quickly,

04:43 and this is more for me,

04:45 parents, I have a two and a half year old,

04:48 what do I do to make sure

04:50 that he's not gonna wake up at 5 a.m. Sunday morning?

04:54 - The kids have a mind of their own, you know?

04:56 So you can try sleeping with them,

04:58 you can try talking to them,

04:59 but kids can't tell time.

05:01 They tell it based on their own natural body habitats.

05:04 So maybe it's up to the parents

05:06 to kinda go to bed on time with them

05:08 and wake up with them.

05:09 We can't give you that extra hour back, I'm sorry.

05:11 No matter how many times you change the clock around.

05:14 - All right, Dr. Chen, I only get five hours of sleep.

05:16 Tell me I'm gonna be okay.

05:19 - Oh my gosh, you need to come see us.

05:21 Make an appointment with me.

05:22 (laughing)

05:24 - You never let me out.

05:25 Dr. Chen, thank you so much

05:27 from the Cleveland Clinic this morning.

05:28 Some great, great advice.

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