The day not all of us but some of us dread, is daylight savings. The day we all jump forward an hour and time flies by quickly.
On March 8 at 2 a.m., clocks were moved forward an hour due to the daylight saving changes. Mostly everyone enjoys this due to the sun staying out more longer now but some people don’t like this change of having the time moved forward an hour.
For me, falling asleep at night is already a huge difficulty for me. With the addition of losing an hour of sleep, it makes it more difficult for me to get rest at night.
Losing an hour also means losing an hour to complete the daily activities I have in my life.
Adjusting to the time moving forward is very difficult for some people. Some people are used to having their extra hour of sleep but now have to adjust with losing that hour.
Daylight saving actually affects some individuals by impacting their mental health or how they run their days. Daylight saving not only comes with an hour more of daylight, but for some it comes with health hazards and safety risks.
According to a 2020 study, the one hour loss of sleep causes a surge of accidents to occur. It’s caused a 6% increase in fatal traffic accidents due to people’s bodies having no energy due to the shift of losing an hour of sleep.
I personally have been affected by the lost hour due to having a hard time adjusting to my sleeping schedule. Having to wake up at 6 in the morning for school after missing an hour of sleep is not an easy thing to adjust to.
Each morning for school I have to drive 30 minutes to school and without proper sleep, it causes me to wake up tired and risks me driving sleepy. It also leaves me unenergized for school in the morning, which leaves me unmotivated to do things.
Along with the cause of these fatal accidents, people not having time to adjust to losing an hour of sleep can surprisingly cause health hazards to some individuals.
An article by Bloomberg School of Public Health said “The scientific evidence points to acute increases in adverse health consequences from changing the clocks, including in heart attack and stroke.”
The chances of getting a heart attack increases by 24% after daylight saving time has started. Not only is it an increase of heart attacks but along with strokes.
The time changing can also leave affects on people’s moods, can trigger anxiety, cause depression and higher stress levels. It also affects the sleep schedule of many children and teenagers.
Along with heart attacks and strokes, more health risks include risks of a decrease in cardiovascular health, increase in obesity and diabetes, poorer mental health, lower cognitive performance and an increase in the risk of motor vehicle accidents.
These dangers seem casual but in reality are very deadly. There are an increasing amount of deaths that come along with daylight saving times.
So while you’re enjoying one hour more of sunlight outside, think about the hard working people who have to struggle to wake up in the morning after losing their hour of sleep that helps them get through their days.
