Turn the Clock Ahead, But Watch Your Heart

Could daylight savings time be bad for your heart?

By Elena Rover
From Reader's Digest
Advertisement
 
Sleep Disorders and Daylight Savings Time
Manfred J. Bail/Jupiter Images
This year, hit the sack early after resetting your clock.
Image
Turning the clock forward for daylight saving time is a nuisance and a sleep thief -- and now it seems it's also bad for your heart.
Analyzing 20 years of data, scientists in Sweden found that the number of heart attacks typically rises 6 to 10 percent for the three days after clocks jump forward; the day after the clocks are set back each fall, heart attacks fall by 5 percent. A lack of sleep may be to blame for the danger, says study coauthor Imre Janszky, MD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm -- other studies have shown that chronic sleep deprivation is hard on the heart. This year, hit the sack early after resetting your clock. But you may not have to fret about your bedtime forever. The Swedish statistics suggest that people over 65 are less apt to be harmed by the time change -- perhaps because retired folks are less tied to the clock.

More on Heart Disease
From Reader's Digest - March 2009
 
Must Read Should Everyone Read This? Yes! I vote for this story
Share Your Comments
Post a Comment
 
Remaining Character Count:
 
See All Comments

Advertisement
 
Related Links

Advertisement

Digg

Popular stories from the source site rd.com sorted by diggs
Powered by Digg's Users