Daylight Saving Time: Spring Forward Tonight

Remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour tonight. For most of the U.S. daylight saving time officially begins late tonight at 2 a.m.

The AASM recommends that you set your clocks ahead one hour in the early evening. Then go to sleep at your normal bedtime. This will help prevent the loss of an hour of sleep.

Why did we ever implement daylight saving time in the first place? Last year author David Prerau shared the story of daylight saving time on NPR’s All Things Considered. He traces its roots to World War I.



Earlier this week Katie Couric reminded viewers of one benefit of daylight saving time.



The longer hours of daylight in the spring reduce the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. SAD is common during winter because there is much less sunlight than in the summer months.

Light plays an important role as a visual timing cue for your body. Sunlight signals to your brain that it is time for your body to be awake and alert.

Your brain responds by adjusting your body temperature and certain hormone levels. In general, the dark months of winter throw off your body’s timing. As a result, you are more likely to be sleepy and sluggish during daytime hours.

Regardless of the season or the time, do you struggle with an ongoing sleep problem? Get help at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

Do the Winter Blues Make You SAD?

Only 74 more days until March 20. What some people like to call the "vernal equinox." You know, the first day of spring.

But who’s counting, right? Certainly not people in states like Arizona, Nevada or California. There the sun is always shining. Or so it seems.

For the rest of us, there is winter. For some of us, there is a very long winter. Dark. Gray. Dreary. Cold – miserably cold. And depressing.

This kind of winter depression is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It may surprise you that SAD has little to do with how cold it is. Instead it’s all about sunlight. Or the lack of it, to be exact.

Sunlight is an important visual cue for your body. It lets your brain know that it is "showtime." Time to be awake, alert and active. Your brain responds by adjusting your body temperature and certain hormone levels.

The long, dark days of winter deprive your body of this signal. As a result, you may feel sluggish, sleepy and depressed. Like other forms of depression, SAD is more common in women.

To combat SAD the best thing you can do is to "see the light." Let your eyes see as much sunlight as possible. Sit by a window during the day. Go outside for a walk on your lunch break.

You can supplement this natural light with bright light therapy. In the morning you sit near a small "light box" at home for a specific length of time. This exposes your eyes to intense but safe amounts of bright light.

A study in 2007 also found that cognitive behavioral therapy can be an effective treatment for SAD. It can be used alone or together with light therapy. Some medications also may help treat SAD.

As with any other medical problem, you should discuss SAD with your doctor. He or she can develop a treatment plan for you.

What are you doing to cope with SAD this winter?