The impact of Daylight Saving time on sleep

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Clocks across the United States sprung forward on Sunday, March 12 and most Americans lost one hour of sleep.

Experts say this time change can have an impact on our sleep routine, but there are things you can do to make the transition easier.

“The immediate impact of that first day is that you’re probably going to get an hour less of sleep,” said David J. Earnest, PhD, a professor at the Texas A&M University School of Medicine.

Earnest studies circadian or 24-hour rhythms controlled by our internal body clocks.

“It can have an impact because our internal body clocks are trying to keep time and keep everything in order for us in terms of going to sleep,” said Earnest. “When we have even a small time change, if we don’t make the adjustment immediately that can sort of confuse our bodies and create problems in terms of keeping all these processes on time.”

You can watch our full interview from First News at Four in the video player above.

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