Watch Yourself! Today Is One Of The Most Dangerous Days Of The Year

Our busy lives are probably in part to blame for the uptick in incidents right after the shift to daylight saving time. (Photo: Spacecadet / Tumblr) 

What a difference just one hour makes. According to research, the Monday after we spring forward for daylight saving time results in more fatal car crashes, heart attacks and injuries in the workplace than at any other time of year.

Recent studies have called into question the value of that daylight saving shift, even suggesting that eating that one hour of time may waste energy rather than save it. However, what may be worse is the impact on our health. A 2007 BMC Biology study of 55,000 people showed that our circadian rhythms never really adjust to the daylight saving shift.

More Traffic Accidents 

According to one study published in the journal Sleep Medicine, researchers collected data from 21 years of fatal car accidents and found significant increases on the Monday following daylight saving in the spring, and on the Sunday when we gain an hour in the fall. They found no significant increase or decrease in crashes on any other days throughout the year.

More Heart Attacks 

In another study from 2012, Swedish researchers noted an elevated incidence ratio of 1.039 for acute myocardial infarctions in the week following the daylight saving shift. The study authors suggest that even a little sleep deprivation and mild changes in the body’s sleep-wake cycle can impact bodily functioning, bumping up the risk of heart attack. A study from the University of Alabama also saw a 10 percent increase in heart attacks on the Monday and Tuesday after we jump ahead.

Related: How To Make Daylight Saving Time Suck Less

More Workplace Injuries 

And it doesn’t stop there. Even workplace injury seems to rise on the Monday after we lose that all-important hour of sleep. In a 2009 study from the Journal of Applied Psychology, scientists examined mining statistics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health database and saw that daylight saving time seemed to be associated with more workplace injuries — and more severe ones, at that.

According to Steven Feinsilver, MD, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mount Sinai Hospital and a professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Division at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, our busy lives are probably in part to blame for the uptick in incidents after the shift to daylight saving.

“You have to start with the idea that we’re all a little sleep deprived to begin with,” Feinsilver tells Yahoo Health. “We know that sleep deprivation leads to a host of issues over the long-term, like an increase in heart attack risk, stroke and high blood pressure, and poor cognitive function in the short term.”

We all have a built-in body clock that runs roughly 24 hours — but not quite, making this spring shift a tough one. “It’s more or less 24 hours, but it’s really a bit slow,”Feinsilver says. “We’d really do well on a 24-and-a-half or 25-hour clock.” This is why staying up an hour later is easier than going to bed an hour earlier; your body wants a little extra time in that day.

Related: This Sleep Tweak Could Help You Worry Less

For the most part, our bodies do adjust pretty well to one-hour shifts of time, says Feinsilver. The biggest problems arise for the already worn-out group out there. “I’m most worried about the chronic sleep-deprived getting into trouble today,” he says. “Sunday night is already insomnia night, because you aren’t on schedule anymore after the weekend, and you’re worrying about what you need to do the next morning.” Taken all together, for those with poor sleep habits, the Monday following daylight saving is sort of a perfect storm.

The best strategy is to not allow yourself to get chronically sleep-deprived, ever, which will make daylight savings time and other mild sleep shifts more manageable. Keep a set sleep schedule, and stick to it.

“One hour is about as much as the body can handle as a shift,”says Feinsilver. “The best sleeper has regular hours. If you get up at 6 a.m. during the week, no one likes to hear it, but you’re better off sleeping only until around 7 a.m. on the weekends.”

And if you have a late night on Friday or Saturday? “It’s better to take a nap than to sleep late,” Feinsilver says. “We all get a little tired in the afternoon anyway, so it doesn’t change our rhythm as much.”

Make smart sleep choices for your overall good health, as your body is made to function on a set schedule with regular sleep. “The bottom line is that it’s not nice to trick Mother Nature,”Feinsilver says.

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