Article Topics
Introduction
The body is a delicate balance of chemicals and hormones. It’s more than just your heart beating and your lungs breathing. The human body has an internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, which regulates all of our daily processes. When we change our schedules — especially in drastic ways like daylight savings time — we can disrupt this natural rhythm. This can have adverse effects on our health, including an increased risk of sickness or even death.
The biological clock is an internal timekeeping device that helps regulate the daily rhythms in our bodies.
The biological clock is an internal timekeeping device that helps regulate the daily rhythms in our bodies. It helps regulate sleep, wakefulness, body temperature, digestion and hormone secretion.
The biological clock also helps regulate seasonal behaviors like hibernation. The sun’s light triggers a reaction in special cells in the retina of your eye which send signals to your brain via nerve fibers. Your suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) then interprets these signals as “daytime” or “nighttime” depending on when they arrive – this tells you when to go to sleep or wake up!
The human body is beautifully complex, with thousands of hormones and chemical reactions that keep us alive and functioning.
The human body is beautifully complex, with thousands of hormones and chemical reactions that keep us alive and functioning.
Hormones are chemicals that travel through the body and cause different reactions. They control how our bodies function, including how we feel, how we sleep and how we eat. Hormones are secreted by endocrine glands located throughout our body.
When we force our bodies to be awake when they’re supposed to be asleep, we can end up delaying our natural circadian rhythm.
Your circadian rhythm is the internal timekeeping system that regulates sleep, wakefulness and other body processes. It’s affected by light and darkness, which can be used to reset it when it gets out of sync with your schedule.
The research on the effects of daylight savings time on the body has been mixed so far. Some studies have shown an increase in heart attacks, strokes and even workplace injuries during the first week after we lose an hour; others have found no effect at all.
Daylight savings time affects the body in many ways — some of them good, and some of them bad.
- Depression. Daylight savings time can cause a rise in depression, especially in those who are already prone to it.
- Weight gain. The extra hour of sunlight during daylight savings time can make you want to eat more, which leads to weight gain and obesity over time if you’re not careful about your eating habits during this period.
- Stroke rate and heart attack risk increase slightly while there is an increased risk of having a stroke on Monday after the changeover from standard time back into daylight saving’s extra hour of sunlight begins each year — but only for a few days afterward until people get used again; then their bodies adjust accordingly again just fine!
Studies have shown that the change may have an effect on heart attack rates, stroke risk and depression.
Studies have shown that the change may have an effect on heart attack rates, stroke risk and depression.
- Heart attack rates increase. In 2007, The Journal of Internal Medicine published a study comparing heart attacks during daylight saving time to non-daylight saving time periods in Australia between 1998 and 2005. They found that there was an 24% increase in heart attacks on the first Monday after clocks changed–the day when people were most likely to be sleep deprived due to adjusting their sleep schedule to accommodate for daylight savings time changes.
- Stroke risk increases slightly as well: A 2014 review from the University of Washington School of Public Health found an association between springing forward with increased risk for ischemic stroke (caused by blocked blood vessels) but not hemorrhagic strokes (which happen when a brain vessel ruptures). Another study found that there was an 8% increase in strokes on day 2 after clocks changed. This result was not replicated in studies looking at wintertime DST changes; researchers aren’t sure why this might be so but point out that it could be related to increased exposure outdoors during summer months compared with colder seasons when we spend more time indoors under artificial light sources like lamps or televisions.”
Daylight savings time does more than just mess with your sleep schedule; there are health risks associated with the change as well.
- Weight gain
- Stroke risk
- Heart attack risk
- Decision-making ability and memory are also affected. Some people experience irritability, which can lead to an increased risk of accidents or injuries.
Conclusion
We know that daylight savings time is a drag, but there’s no need to let it ruin your health! If you can’t avoid the change or if it’s too late in the year to change back (sorry), then try to plan ahead. Make sure you get enough sleep before the weekend starts and make sure your body gets plenty of sunlight throughout the day. It may not be as easy as staying in bed all day long on Sunday morning with no alarm clock going off…but at least these tips will help ease the transition so we don’t all go crazy when spring comes around again next year!
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