Be Your Best Slept Self (posted March 12, 2025)

By Adam Behnke, BCPH Communications Specialist 

Right now, you might be feeling some lingering effects of Daylight Saving Time (DST). For most of the country, this past Sunday marked the time to “spring forward” and lose an hour in the snap of a finger. This change in sleep routine does more than make you tired and cranky; it comes with documented detriments to health. Experts say Daylight Saving Time is associated with increased risk of heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, and stroke. There are also increased emergency room visits, traffic crashes, and links to mood disturbances and deaths by suicide. 
This all points to how Daylight Saving Time disrupts normal sleep patterns by causing us to sleep less and with less quality. Today’s edition of the Healthy Herald will explore the history of DST, what research reveals about its impacts on our health, and ways you can overcome DST and be your best slept self. 

The History of Daylight Saving Time 

Daylight Saving Time operates under a uniform set of rules and always starts at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. It concludes (and we “fall back” an hour) at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. This means that DST lasts 34 weeks, or about 65% of the calendar year. 

The idea of shifting clocks may have originated with Benjamin Franklin in 1784. He penned a satirical letter for the Journal de Paris suggesting that shifting sleeping patterns to coincide with sunlight would save money on candles. While the journal published Franklin’s letter, the idea wouldn’t catch on for more than a century. 
The first widespread adoption of Daylight Saving Time happened in Germany in 1916 as a wartime measure to conserve coal. The United States joined the movement two years later when it entered World War I, but Congress repealed the measure after the war due to objections from farmers. In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted “War Time”, a year-round DST that remained in effect until 1945. 
A more familiar version of Daylight Saving Time emerged in 1967, one year after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The law set DST between late April and late October and required states to either fully participate in DST or fully remain on standard time. In 2007, DST was extended into the March – November timeframe we know today by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 
Initially devised with a focus on energy conservation, modern considerations around Daylight Saving Time include public health, safety, and quality of life. Bills have been introduced in more than 30 states to end the yearly changing of the clocks, and in 2019 then-U.S. Senator Marco Rubio introduced the Sunshine Protection Act to make DST permanent. The bill has not passed both houses of Congress, however, and is opposed by several medical groups who advocate instead for the permanent adoption of standard time. 
The Health Impacts of Daylight Saving Time 

The health risks associated with changing our clocks twice a year – particularly when we “spring forward” and lose an hour of sleep – goes beyond inconvenience and temporary fatigue. Research has identified correlations between the spring transition to DST and increases in the rates of heart attacks and strokes due to the stress of sleep disruption on cardiovascular systems. Researchers have also noted the change to circadian rhythms, which refers to the way our bodies navigate a 24-hour period, contributes to documented increases in suicide rates following the spring time change. Some studies also show the lost sleep affects people’s attention, reaction time, and decision-making abilities, leading to an increase in traffic crashes in the days after DST takes effect.  
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says the effect of Daylight Saving Time is worse than jet lag (when you travel across time zones and have trouble adjusting) because the time has been artificially changed but sunrise and sunset remain the same. This causes misalignment between a person’s body clock, the sun time, and local clock time. It is for that reason, amongst numerous others, that the AASM has issued an official position paper urging the U.S. to eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of permanent standard time. This position, updated with new evidence in 2023, is endorsed by 20 medical, scientific, and civic organizations. 
Tips for Maintaining Healthy Sleep 

The National Sleep Foundation observes Sleep Awareness Week every year in conjunction with adoption of Daylight Saving Time. It says this week is the perfect time to “reemphasize the important connection between your sleep and your health and well-being.” 

The NSF has distilled the message down to six small steps for healthy sleep. It’s part of a campaign called “Be your Best Slept Self”, which you can see below: 



During the daytime: 

1. Light 
   1. Spend time in bright light during the day, natural light or equivalent brightness. 
2. Exercise 
   1. Exercise regularly for a deeper sleep. Aim for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. 
3. Mealtimes 
   1. Eat your meals at consistent times day after day. 

During the nighttime: 

1. Avoid... 
   1. Avoid heavy meals, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime. 
2. Wind-down 
   1. Use a consistent routine with a relaxing wind-down to help get the sleep you need each night (7–9 hours for most adults, with same sleep and wake times.) 
3. Environment 
   1. Put your devices away an hour before bed and sleep in a quiet, cool, and dark environment. 

 

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has also provided tips, specifically for people to minimize the impact of transitioning between standard time and daylight saving time. The academy says you should: 

• Get at least seven hours of sleep (for adults) or eight hours of sleep (for teens) per night before and after the time change.  
• Gradually adjust your sleep and wake times. Shift your bedtime 15 to 20 minutes earlier each night for a few nights before the spring time change, or 15 to 20 minutes later each night for a few nights before the fall time change. 
• Adjust other daily routines — such as mealtimes — to match your new schedule prior to the time change. 
• Set your clocks to the new time on Saturday evening and go to bed at your normal bedtime. 
• Use light and darkness to help your body adjust.  
  • In the spring, head outside for some sunlight on Sunday morning and dim the lights in the evening.  
  • In the fall, minimize light exposure until your target morning wake time.  
    • Adjusting your exposure to light and darkness will help set your body clock, which regulates the timing of sleep and alertness. 
    • Get plenty of sleep on Sunday night to ensure you’re rested and ready for the week ahead. 

If the time change has you feeling significantly sleepy during the day, experts say you could try a brief daytime nap. Keeping it to 20 minutes or less, and not too late in the afternoon, will provide the best boost to alertness without making you groggy or compromising your upcoming evening of sleep. 
Conclusion 

For now, we’ll have to continue navigating a twice-yearly changing of the clocks. By easing into our “spring forward” and developing consistent daily habits, we can significantly reduce the negative of impacts of DST on our sleep, health, and ability to function out in society. For additional guidance on building habits, check out an earlier edition of the Healthy Herald on “Habit Stacking”.  

Perhaps once day soon, policymakers will reassess whether the perceived benefits of Daylight Saving Time can still justify the well-documented costs. Until then, Stay Healthy, Brown County! 

Resources 

https://sleepeducation.org/resources/daylight-saving-time/ 

https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=faculty-articles 

https://www.congress.gov/65/crecb/1917/10/02/GPO-CRECB-1917-pt8-v55-6.pdf#page=234 

https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/mobile/daylight-savings-1918.pdf?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur 

https://web.archive.org/web/20151118173428/http://legisworks.org/congress/77/publaw-403.pdf 

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BOUQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EuEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6964%2C1188596 

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-119/pdf/STATUTE-119-Pg594.pdf#page=22 

https://landline.media/6587-2/ 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10881510/

https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10898 

https://www.thensf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/NSF-2022-BSS-Infographic.pdf 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm/how-to-prepare-for-daylight-saving-time 

https://www.stayhealthybc.com/about/news/habit-stacking-2025-01-01/