from: http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html Visit this site to view world map to see where participation occurs in this artificial phenomena.
"Today, approximately 70 countries utilize Daylight Saving Time in at least a portion of the country. Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that do not observe some form of daylight saving."
Daylight Savings Time ends Nov. 6: How does it affect our biorhythms, and how can we adjust?from: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10764098-daylight-savings-time-ends-november-6th-how-does-it-affect-our-biorhythms-and-how-can-we-adjust
"Circadian rhythms set by the sun change depending on where we live. Physiologically, we follow the sun rather than the clock. Time-keeping and its adjustments like Daylight Savings work against our natural biorhythms, causing us to experience stress or interruption of sleep patterns that can affect all aspects of our everyday life, from how we perform on the job to how well a student does on a test at school.At this time of year, we turn the clocks back one hour and have to readjust our body clocks to the time change. As standard time returns, how are our sleep cycles affected?
According to Somerset Medical Center Sleep Research, a new study published online by German scientists in Current Biology shows that our internal body clocks may not adjust to the change of Daylight Savings Time and instead adjust to the changing cycles of sunlight.
The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated that Daylight Savings Time start three weeks earlier and Standard Time start a week later to reduce energy usage. While this change has had a beneficial effect on energy consumption, it has not been helpful in encouraging good sleep habits.
Seasonal Disorders
Seasonal Effective Disorder (SAD), Daylight Savings Time Changes (DSTC), lunar phases and even Friday the 13th can affect how we feel and sleep.
Seasonal Effective Disorder may begin during the teen years or in early adulthood. Like other forms of depression, it occurs more often in women than in men. SAD is related to the lack of sunlight.
People who live in places with long winter nights are at greater risk for SAD. A less common form of the disorder involves depression during the summer months.
Other factors that may make SAD more likely include: 1) Amount of light; 2) Body Temperature; 3) Genes; 4) Hormones.
Daylight Savings Time Changes likewise affects us by exposing us to less sunlight. On Chron.com, Dr. Shyam Subramanian, a Baylor College of Medicine professor of pulmonary medicine and medical director of the Harris County Hospital District'sSleep Lab at Ben Taub General Hospital, said, “Losing an hour of sleep contributes to sleep debt. If you don't make up the debt, it manifests in waking up tired, needing a lot of caffeine to get going, nodding off during the day. There are also more subtle signs — irritability, depression, attention deficit, inability to focus, inability to multi-task, anxiety.”
The second issue is light. The body clock that tells us when to go to sleep and when to wake up is influenced by light and the hormone melatonin. When melatonin levels go up, the body clock tells the brain to go to sleep. When bright light shines, melatonin production shuts down, and the brain tells the body to wake up and be alert. At daylight saving time, it takes a little while for the body clock to readjust melatonin activity.
What Can We Do to Adjust to the Time Change?
Somerset Sleep Center reported that in the new study, researchers collected data on the sleep patterns of 55,000 Europeans. The researchers found that the time period that study subjects slept on their weekends during Daylight Savings Time still followed the seasonal progression of dawn under Standard Time, not the Daylight Savings Time progression. Their internal clocks did not automatically adjust and followed the sun rather than the clock.
While these changes are disruptive of sleep patterns, there are some things people can do to minimize the effects of this weekend's time change.
Sleep for Life at Somerset Medical Center suggests:
- Maintain your regular bedtime Saturday night and awaken at your regular time. This can give you an "extra" hour of sleep the next morning and help reduce your sleep debt.
- Block out light and keep your sleeping area dark. Standard Time means sunrise will occur about an hour earlier. This can impact sleep, especially for people accustomed to awakening before or around sunrise. The light itself also can disturb sleep. It is always best to sleep in a darkened room until you wake up.
- Increase the light when you wake up. Light has an alerting affect that may help you wake up. It also will help adjust your biological clock to the "new" sleep schedule.
- If you are a "night owl" and tend to be wide awake and energetic until late and night and sleepy in the morning, start a week ahead; a gradual delay in bedtime and awakening a few days before the time change may help you adjust to the change.Gradually move bedtime and wake up later by 15 minutes every one to two days.
Dava Castillo is based in Clearlake, California, United States of America, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.
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