GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- We "spring forward" one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, as most of the United States sets the clocks ahead for Daylight Saving Time, including Michigan.
West Michigan is on the extreme western end of the Eastern Time Zone, so it stays lighter out longer in the summer months here than in most of the United States.
Studies have shown that clock shifts can have measurable adverse effects on human health. Moving to DST means it will stay light outdoors one hour later than during Standard Time, and it will stay dark in the morning one hour longer.
Dr. Jim Applegate spoke on West Michigan's Morning News about the health effects of losing one hour of sleep when we move the clocks ahead an hour.
"It'll make you just really groggy in the morning. It'll make you very cranky in the morning, because that circadian rhythm is not just all over," he said.
The body's circadian rhythm is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours.
The American Economic Journal estimates that the transition into Daylight Saving Time caused more than 30 deaths at a social cost of $275 million annual, mainly due to sleep deprivation. It has been documented that the clock shifts have led to an increase in heart attacks and traffic accidents.
Dr. Applegate explained on WOOD Radio how you can adjust to the time shift.
"If the hour of (later) light really bothers you, darken your room with shades. Maybe wear a night mask. But it's really important that you go to bed at the same time, so you can get up at the same time with that circadian rhythm. If that sunlight being gone in the morning really bothers you, you need to get one of those daylight lights in your bathroom and shine it in your eyes as soon as you get going. That'll help get that circadian rhythm rebooted," he said.
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