Time Change Affects Your Health

If you are tired today because of the time change, you are not alone obviously. We are pretty sleepy this morning. It usually takes a week or two for me to adjust. Hopefully being tired will be the only side effect you have from springing the clocks forward but there are actually four ways daylight savings can affect your health. 

According to MNN and the Daily Mail, there four ways that daylight savings time change can affect your health: You're more likely to have a heart attack today, work-related injuries are more common, suicide rates go up and you'll probably eat more.

Here is a little more in depth description of the issues you may face today and why:

1. You're more likely to have a heart attack. A study in Michigan last year found that between 2010 and 2013, there were 25% more heart attacks on the first Monday after daylight savings meaning today.

And a study in Sweden found you're more likely to have a heart attack for the first three days after daylight savings starts.

2. Work-related injuries are more common. According to a 2009 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, you're more likely to get hurt at work today. And it's also more likely to be a serious injury.

3. Suicide rates go up. A study in 2008 looked at 30 years of data, and found that suicide rates for men increase for the first few weeks after daylight savings starts. We assume it holds true for women too.

4. You'll probably eat more. Maybe not if you went to bed earlier than usual last night. But a recent study found that when people got an hour less of sleep, they ate an average of 200 more calories the next day.