GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's time to turn back the clocks, bringing an end to Daylight Saving Time. And while the debate to get rid of the time change continues, a new study says ending it could actually be bad for your health!
Dr. Leisha Cuddihy with Spectrum Health's Sleep Clinic breaks down the research.
"The idea, I think, that the study is trying to promote is that when we shift the clock, there are a couple of days during each of the time shifts where we have more darkness in the morning and less natural light," Cuddihy said. "But overall, we get more exposure to natural light, when we don't shift, there's going to be a three-month period where we're getting less natural light in the morning, which theoretically is worse for you than a couple of days at either switch point."
So which is worse for you? Losing an hour in the spring for Daylight Saving Time or when we gain an hour? Dr. Cuddihy has her opinion.
"I think that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to keep switching our clocks twice a year. I think that's a lot more disruptive than having a few months in the winter where it's just getting light out later. And you have to remember that in the winter, all of the daylight is reduced. It's not just about the timing of it. There's just less daylight and we're not changing that by changing the clock."
Ultimately we were made to get up with the sun and go to bed with the sun.
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