Clocks Fall Back This Sunday But Sleep Experts Urge Reconsideration of Time Changes

(KNSI) — Early Sunday, we fall back, gaining an hour of sleep as we transition from Daylight Saving Time to Central Standard Time, but sleep experts are opposed to the twice yearly time switch.

Psychologist Jennifer Miller with the CentraCare St. Cloud Sleep Center says the move is equivalent to changing time zones and can be hard to adjust to under the best of circumstances. The adaptation period can last about two weeks in extreme cases. Miller explains it’s best to stay on standard time, “and the reason for that is the most common day for a heart attack is the day after we spring forward.”

She says it is one of the deadliest days of the year because there is a spike in everything from traffic accidents to strokes.

Miller says professionals recommend standard time because it closely follows our sleep/wake cycle. She says we get about 40 minutes more sleep per night than in the summer under daylight saving time.

Adjusting to the change is also a problem, even if it doesn’t become something serious like a life-threatening health scare. Miller has some tips on how to cope, especially for children.

“Some kids have difficulty really switching their clocks that quickly. So, instead of switching their clocks an hour on Saturday night, Sunday morning. What I learned to do after some trial and error was I took four days, and I fell back their schedule about 15 minutes per night.”

Parents have until Sunday, so adjusting schedules by several minutes could start today.

The Sleep Foundation says federal law prohibits states from enacting permanent daylight saving time, and proposed legislation to change federal law, such as Senator Marco Rubio’s Sunshine Protection Act, has stalled in 2023 despite gaining momentum in 2022. Under the bill’s provisions, there would be no clock changes in the spring and fall.

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