A Neurologist Explains the Dangers of Daylight Saving Time

Beth Ann Malow is a Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, and is the director of the university's sleep research division. She is a proponent of keeping standard time all year long, instead of switching to Daylight Saving Time, as we will do this weekend. It's not so much of a problem in the fall, when we set our clocks back one hour, but setting them ahead in the springtime causes all kinds of problems. While everyone has anecdotal complaints in the spring, Malow has the numbers to back up her opinion. There is evidence that the time shift leads to increased strokes, heart attacks and sleep deprivation.  

This effect may be due to the balance between cortisol, a stress hormone, and melatonin, a hormone that promotes drowsiness. It might also have to do with the amount of light and its effect on the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions. Young people are especially affected by the time change, from the onset of puberty through the mid-20s, when the correct amount of sleep is crucial to the body's efficiency. And it makes a difference whether you live on the eastern edge or the western edge of a time zone. Read about the effects of springing forward to Daylight Saving Time at the Conversation. -via Damn Interesting