Spring Forward, Fall Back. Are Time Changes Bad For Your Health?

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My cantankerous old Irish grandfather never changed his clocks when daylight savings began and ended. He preferred what he called “sun time.” There was one clock that always got changed, however, the one on top of his television set. It was there so he would know when to tune in to watch his favorite shows — Mr. Ed, Car 54 Where Are You, Gilligan’s Island, and such.

Today, the United States set all its clocks ahead one hour, as prescribed by the maxim “Spring Forward, Fall Back.” It’s a practice that has been used by various nations over the course of time. The Romans did a form of it, adjusting their water clocks to the duration of sunlight.

In 1895, New Zealand astronomer George Hudson first proposed to change clocks by two hours every spring. His idea was not implemented until 1928 and in another form. In 1907, William Willett proposed the adoption of British Summer Time as a way to save energy. His suggestion was not implemented until 1916.

DST Came To Ontario In 1908

The first use of DST in North America was by Port Arthur and Fort William (later merged into Thunder Bay) in Ontario in 1908. The first nationwide implementations were by the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires, both starting on 30 April 1916. Since then, many countries have adopted DST at various times, particularly since the 1970s energy crisis, Wikipedia says.

There is a persistent rumor that DST was implemented in the US at the behest of farmers, but in fact they opposed the idea. Their day is governed by the sun, not clocks. The cows care little for clocks when it comes to milking, and the morning dew on crops is a prime consideration when it comes to harvesting crops. DST first went into effect in the US during WWI and again during WWII, when it was known as “war time.”

It turns out, all living things have what scientists call circadian rhythms, which are associated with the amount of sunlight during a normal day. That is the reason why in some countries people take a siesta in the early afternoon, then go to dinner at 10:00 pm.

Health Risks

Changing the clocks, some say, can have significant impacts on human health. Martin Young of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Cardiovascular Disease says moving our clocks ahead one hour is associated with increased traffic accidents and a higher risk of heart attacks. “Moving the clocks ahead one hour in March is associated with a 10 percent to 24 percent increase in the risk of having a heart attack the following Monday and to some degree Tuesday,” Young said.

That increased risk of heart attacks is because a change in time causes a misalignment of our internal clocks. Every cell in the human body has an internal time mechanism, also known as a circadian clock, which is responsible for driving rhythms in biological processes. These rhythms follow a roughly 24 hour cycle, responding to changes in light and darkness in an organism’s environment.

Young says each organ resets its internal clock differently. The brain uses light cues and the liver responds to meal timing. But the heart receives a mix of signals, which can create confusion and disrupt normal function.

“Going from a sleeping state to waking is already a stressful event in the body,” he said. “When we have an abrupt change, like losing an hour of sleep with daylight saving time, our internal clocks don’t have enough time to reset various biological processes.” Those who are so-called “night owls” have a much more difficult time with springing forward.

When a person wakes up in the morning, the blood in our bodies has a natural peak in its ability to clot. Conversely, clotting ability generally decreases during sleep. However, immediately following acute sleep deprivation, the ability to form a clot is amplified. “The sleep period is one time when the cardiovascular system should not be challenged,” Young said.

A Gradual Adjustment

To ease the transition, Young suggests dividing up the one hour loss over the course of the weekend. For example, if you usually wake up at 6 a.m. on a weekday, set your alarm for 5:40 a.m. Saturday, for 6:20 a.m. (new time) Sunday and for 6 a.m. on Monday. In addition, eat a decent-sized breakfast, then go outside in the sunlight and exercise, as appropriate and as recommended by your doctor.

“Doing all of this will help reset the central clock in the brain that reacts to changes in light/dark cycles, and the peripheral clocks — the ones everywhere else, including the one in the heart — that react to food intake and physical activity. This will enable your body to naturally sync with the change in the environment, which may lessen your chance of adverse health issues on Monday.”

British Columbia Is All In On Daylight Savings

British Columbia objects to all this backing and forthing. According to The Guardian, surveys in 2019 showed 93 percent of residents said they wanted permanent daylight saving time. But doing so would disrupt relations with its neighbors on the other side of the border with the US, and so the time change was maintained. However, the anti-US feeling engendered by US threats to make Canada the 51st state has stiffened the spine of many Canadians, especially in BC.

“We are done waiting. British Columbia is going to change our clocks just one more time — and then never again,” BC’s premier David Eby, told reporters on March 1. The move puts BC in line with the Yukon territory to its north. However, by law, communities within the province are free to set their own time standard.

The Peace region in northern BC, which previously observed Mountain Standard Time year-round, will now be on the same time as most other places in British Columbia. Previously, in the winter, it was aligned with Alberta and then one hour behind in the summer.

“Just as they can today, local governments will retain the power to determine what time zone they observe,” the government said. “They can choose to shift to permanent daylight time and Pacific time, along with the rest of BC, if they prefer.”

Industry groups expressed frustration with the move. “The unilateral change in time is an unwelcome distraction that will make it more difficult to attract and retain businesses in British Columbia,” Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said in a statement. “The choice to change the time unilaterally will create an additional headache for businesses operating on both sides of the border.”

Time

Time is a concept that does not align well with commercial activities. In earlier days, there were no time zones. Local people set their own schedules in accordance with the sun and community traditions. In San Gimignano, Italy, there are 14 clock towers — one for every church. At noon, they all chime out the hour but at different times. You might think that is because the natives are not especially good at telling time, but in fact, the reason likely lies deep in the daily rhythms of each parish dating back centuries.

It was only when railroads became the prime means of transportation that people felt the need to have a coordinated system to manage times, as highlighted by this little ditty from long ago.