As if losing an hour of sleep wasn’t enough of a reason to dislike spring daylight savings time, new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests the time change may increase the risk of heart attacks in those with a history of heart disease.
The study was led by Martin Young, PhD, of the UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease.
"Moving the clocks ahead one hour in March is associated with a 10 to 24 percent increase in the risk of having a heart attack the following Monday and to some degree Tuesday, " said Dr. Young.
Some potential factors that may lead to the increased heart attack risk when internal clocks become out of synch with the environment, include sleep deprivation, inflammation and an elevated number of electrical signals to the heart when someone makes up after daylight savings.
To help reduce the risk of heart attack, Dr. Young suggests easing the transition, by breaking up the one-hour time loss over the course of the weekend. He also says people with a history of heart disease should eat a decent-sized breakfast, then go outside in the sunlight and exercise.
"Doing all of this will help reset the central, or master, 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," said Dr. Young. "This will enable your body to naturally synch with the change in the environment, which may lessen your chance of adverse health issues Monday."