How is sleep affected by changing clocks and seasons?
Study finds problems only when getting an extra hour of sleep

Date:
May 3, 2023
Source:
American Academy of Neurology
Summary:
How are you sleeping? A new study has found the transition from
daylight saving time to standard time, when one hour is gained
overnight, was associated with a brief increase in sleep disorders
such as difficulty going to sleep or staying asleep, but there
was no such association when an hour is lost in the change from
standard time to daylight saving time.

The study also found a small difference in the amount of sleep
people get depending on the season.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
How are you sleeping? A new study has found the transition from daylight
saving time to standard time, when one hour is gained overnight, was
associated with a brief increase in sleep disorders such as difficulty
going to sleep or staying asleep, but there was no such association
when an hour is lost in the change from standard time to daylight
saving time. The study is published in the May 3, 2023, online issue of Neurology(R), the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.It
also found a small difference in the amount of sleep people get depending
on the season.

"Sleep plays an essential role in maintaining good health, mood,
cognition, job performance, and social activity, and it is influenced by
the circadian rhythm, the internal clock that regulates body processes,"
said study author Ron B.

Postuma, MD, MSc, of McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, and a member
of the American Academy of Neurology. "The good news is that the sleep disruptions we observed following the change to standard time were brief
and no longer evident two weeks after the shift." The study involved
30,097 people, ages 45 to 85, who completed a questionnaire about sleep duration and satisfaction, ability to fall asleep, ability to remain
asleep and excessive sleepiness during the day. Questions included,
"Over the last month, how often did it take you more than 30 minutes to
fall asleep?" and "Over the last month, how often did you wake in the
middle of the night or too early in the morning and found it difficult
to fall asleep again?" Those who responded three or more times a week
to either of these questions were considered to have sleep problems.

For the change to standard time in the fall, researchers compared
people who completed the questionnaire one week before the transition to
those who completed it one week after. After adjusting for age, sex and location, they found those who completed the survey one week after the transition had a 34% increased risk of sleep dissatisfaction, with 28% reporting sleep dissatisfaction compared to 23% of those interviewed one
week before. Those who completed the questionnaire one week after also
had a more than two times greater risk of difficulty falling asleep,
a 64% increased risk of difficulty remaining asleep, and a two times
greater risk of excessive sleepiness during waking hours.

For the transition to daylight saving time in spring, researchers compared people who completed the questionnaire one week before the change to
those who completed it one week after. They found no difference in
sleep problems.

However, they did find a nine-minute decrease in sleep duration one week
after this transition.

Researchers looked at when participants completed the questionnaire:
spring, summer, fall or winter. While they found no difference for sleep problems, they did find a small difference in sleep duration.

People who completed the questionnaire in summer had the shortest sleep duration, an average of 6.76 hours of sleep daily. People who completed
the survey in the winter had the longest sleep duration, an average of
6.84 hours of sleep daily, a difference of five minutes.

"As disruptive as these transitions may feel in the short term, there
may be few long-term implications of the repeated switch back and forth
from daylight saving time to standard time." said Postuma. "However,
previous research has linked the transitions to and from daylight saving
time with higher rates of accidents as well as an increased risk of stroke
and heart attack. Future studies are needed that follow individuals over
time, including people living in areas with different light exposure
and seasonal changes." A limitation of the study was that it included
only middle-aged and older adults, and results may not be the same for
younger adults.

The study was funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Mind_&_Brain
# Sleep_Disorders # Insomnia # Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea #
Disorders_and_Syndromes # Child_Development # Parenting #
Behavior # Perception
* RELATED_TERMS
o Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome o Circadian_rhythm_sleep_disorder
o Narcolepsy_(sleep_disorder) o Sleep_deprivation o Insomnia
o Sleep_disorder o Night_terror o Sleep

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Academy_of_Neurology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Sheida Zolfaghari, Marie`ve Cyr, Ame'lie Pelletier, Ronald
B. Postuma.

Effects of Season and Daylight Savings Time Shifts on Sleep
Symptoms: Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Neurology, 2023;
10.1212/ WNL.0000000000207342 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000207342 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230503200454.htm

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