The Daylight Saving Time Hangover Is Real

On Saturday night I forgot that we were supposed to change the time so there I was at the bar freaking out because the time went from 1:59 A.M. to 3:00 A.M. When I awoke, my phone said it was 1 P.M. but my kitchen stove said it was noon and I was so confused! Daylight Saving Time hit me like a ton of bricks. I was ill equipped for the dreaded Sunday of losing an hour of sleep. For many people, DST does nothing but for most of us we feel that lost hour in our souls!

Researcher's estimate that we'll lose about 40 minutes of sleep due to the time change, it's pretty intense because researchers say that it could take a few weeks for our bodies to finally adjust to the time change. I won't get into the specifics of why we have DST, mainly because I still don't fully understand it, but what I do understand are the effects "Spring Forward" has on many people. Here are some ways that DST can screw up your life.

1. More heart attacks: That's right, hospitals report a 24% increase in heart attacks the Monday following Daylight Saving Time. So, if you have heart problems, be sure to take your medication!
2. More vehicle accidents: Researchers found that the first six days following DST, 302 deaths were caused over a ten year study, and found that car crashes increased by 5.4% to 7.6%
3. Higher workplace injuries: Everyone on the show has had their fair share of injuries (Buzz with his teeth, Brandon fell off a chair, Lisa sprained her ankle and I sprained my knee) but add our clumsiness to sleep deprivation and that's a bad time! A study found that workplace injuries increase by 5.7% on the Monday after the switch.
4. Legal sentences are longer: LIke many of us are sleep deprived, judges too lose that extra snooze time and as a result, tend to give harsher sentences. Sentences are 5% longer when given on the day after DST.

Just so this won't sound like such a downer, there are some good things that DST bring like less crime. Because we have more daylight hours, we see a 7% decrease in robberies. We also have more outdoor time, we spend 30 more minutes outside doing recreational activities and spend less time inside watching T.V, that equals to burning 10% more calories. So, the next time someone tries to tell you that DST does nothing to them, don't feel bad. But for the next few days, take care of your heart, your car and put yourself in a bubble while we wait for November where we can get our extra hour of sleep!