Spring forward: How to combat drowsiness, health risks that come with daylight saving time

PITTSBURGH — It is that dreaded time of year again to spring forward.

Standard time ends this weekend and daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m.

That means setting our clocks forward one hour Saturday night.

>> Daylight saving time 2024: When do we change our clocks and spring forward?

Dr. Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse is a sleep neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh. She told Channel 11 the practice of daylight saving time, when we lose an hour of sleep, is outdated.

But even more, it causes our biological clock or circadian rhythm to be out of sync and it’s particularly bad for our health.

“The fact we know that there will be a surge of health conditions, including heart attack, stroke, more mental health illnesses, like depression, anxiety and in the long-term, it can affect us in the way that we see increased risk for dementia and cancer. So it’s significant,” Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse said.

Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse says the time change is also a public health risk, increasing the chance of car crashes with drowsy driving.

The earlier start also affects students at school.

But there are ways to have a smoother time-change transition.

The doctor recommends:

• Make gradual, subtle time adjustments, in 15-minute increments
• Modify your sleep (take a nap or increase sleep at night)
• Be mindful of lighting (turn lights on when it’s dark in the morning and dim the lights at night when it’s light out)

“Really I do advocate for policy that is you know better for health,” Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse said.

For Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse, that means abolishing daylight saving time altogether.

“Standard time is actually much better for us, much healthier, safer because it aligns without internal biological clock much better,” Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse said.

We switch back to standard time in six months on Nov. 3.

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