October 27, 2005

“Falling Back’’ Doesn’t Mean You’ll Get Extra Hour Of Sleep

Davenport, IA – An extra hour of sleep sounds like a good plan as most of the United States shifts back to Standard Time on Sunday morning but most won’t execute the plan, according to the experts of the Genesis Sleep Centers.

Twice a year, most of the nation changes its clocks at 2:00 a.m. On the first Sunday in April, clocks “spring forward” an hour for Daylight Saving Time. On the last Sunday in October, clocks “fall back” one hour to return to Standard Time. Because the time change occurs in the middle of the night, sleep cycles can be disturbed.

“Many people have difficulties adjusting to both time changes,” says Stephen Rasmus, M.D., Neurologist with Neurology Consultants and Medical Director of the Genesis Medical Center, Davenport Sleep Center.  “But in the fall, earlier light exposure in the morning may cause people to wake up earlier. Because they may sleep less, it could mean more daytime sleepiness.’’

The annual Sleep in America poll from the National Sleep Foundation found that more than one-third of Americans (37%) said they are so sleepy during the day it interferes with their activities at least a few days a month and one in six (16%) reported these symptoms a few days a week or more. Young adults (18-29) were the most likely to say they experienced daytime sleepiness.

Akshay Mahadevia, M.D. and Medical Director of the Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus Sleep Center, said the fall and spring time changes typically create the most disruption for people who already have sleep problems.

“For most people, a one-hour adjustment isn’t much. We adjust in a couple of days. But if you already have a lot of stress and difficulty with sleep, or have insomnia, the effect of the change can be much greater,’’ Dr. Mahadevia said.

One of Dr. Mahadevia’s suggestions is to start adjusting your internal clock a few days before the actual change on the clock.

“If you usually go to bed at 10:30, try going to sleep 15 or 30 minutes earlier for a few days,’’ Dr. Mahadevia said.  “By the time of the change back to standard time, your internal clock should have adjusted.

“If you wait until after the time change, try gradually staying up a little later for a few days. That should also help get you back on a regular schedule.’’

The Genesis Sleep Disorders Center and the NSF recommends these additional tips to help ease the adjustment to standard time: 

• Maintain your regular bedtime Saturday night, when clocks move back, and awaken at your regular time. This can give you an “extra” hour of sleep the next morning and help reduce your sleep debt.
• Block out light and keep your sleeping area dark. Standard time means sunrise will occur about an hour earlier. This can impact sleep, especially for people accustomed to awakening before or around sunrise. The light itself can disturb sleep. It is always best to sleep in a darkened room until you wake up.
• Increase the light when you wake up. Light has an alerting effect that may help you wake up. It will also help adjust your biological clock to the “new” sleep schedule.
• Difficulty adjusting to the time change? Staying awake at night or sleeping until your desired wake up time may be helped by gradually moving bedtime and awakening later by 15 minutes every one to two days.

For more information about sleep disorders, or about the services provided by the Genesis Sleep Disorder Centers  in Davenport, DeWitt and Silvis, visit the Genesis Health System website at, www.genesishealth.com or call Genesis On Call at 421-2000 or 1-800-383-2575.