Daylight-saving time ends and we “fall back” an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday. A Sarasota specialist echoes others in his field who say it would be healthier for us to abandon daylight-saving time altogether and stay on standard time year-round.
Dr. Rabih Loutfi is medical director of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Sleep Lab. He's among those who prefer that we leave the clock alone.
"Even though we turn the clock on the wall back one hour, our biological clock doesn't adjust immediately," he said. "So our biological clock is what we call the circadian rhythm. It doesn't align perfectly well with the clock on the wall right away. It takes time to adjust."
But we do adjust, and more easily in the fall than when we “spring forward,” Loutfi said. That’s when plenty of people get sleep-deprived. "In general, we do recommend staying on standard time and not shifting the time because it may be disruptive, particularly for kids or for people who have bad sleep habits or chronically sleep deprived." And a lot of Americans are sleep-deprived already, he said.
"And less sleep can certainly have a lot of side effects. You become irritable in the morning, have trouble concentrating, some memory problems. And there's certainly some studies that have shown increased risk of cardiovascular issues.
"The American Academy of Sleep Medicine … supports permanent standard time because it's easier on the body and it aligns more with the internal clock of the body," Loutfi said.
Most people need the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep every night, he said.
Consistency is the most important sleep habit, he added.
"Try to keep a tight sleep schedule. Go to bed on time, wake up on time, avoid caffeine late at night, get natural sunlight in the morning."
That’s hard to do when we move the clock in spring and fall. And some people are in favor of permanent daylight-saving time, including President Trump. They want more evening hours to enjoy outdoor activities. In fact, the Sunshine Protection Act – a bill calling for the country to stay on daylight time – passed the House in July. But it stalled in the Senate.
So for now, we’re stuck moving those clock hands twice a year and expecting our bodies to adjust.
