AndreyPopov)
This weekend an event occurs that many dread, Daylight Savings Time. We spring forward one hour on Sunday, which means we lose 60 minutes of sleep.
It's no secret that sleep is important.
"Hopefully you're sleeping well before this and losing an hour isn't that big a deal in which case," explains Dr. Michael Howell, Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota. "Unfortunately, a lot of people are not sleeping well. They may have sleep apnea or insomnia and then all of a sudden if they lose that hour, then they're even farther behind."
Mornings are darker, but evenings are lighter. So how do we compensate for the early lack of light?
"Sometimes when we wake up at 6:00, 6:30 in the morning, the sun's not out yet," says Howell. "So get yourself some bright light exposure. The best kind of light is either the sunlight or a light box."
At night, Dr. Howell suggests dimming the lights and taking a milligram of melatonin.
"This little hour of sleep, you know, don't worry about it," he says. "You will recover from it. But the fact that you're not feeling great the next day, that's just a sign of how important sleep is. And by sleeping better, you can do all sorts of things better whether or not that's athletics or artistic or just, you know, hanging out with your family just a little bit better. Sleep can help you with all that."
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And don't forget, before you head to bed on Saturday, get those clocks set one hour ahead. You certainly don't want to be late for church or anything else you have planned Sunday.
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AndreyPopov)