CARLSBAD, Calif. – Sleep scientists are once again warning of health repercussions as Daylight Saving Time is in full effect.
Colin Lawlor, CEO of SleepScore Labs headquartered in Carlsbad, says there is a 24% increase in heart attacks on Monday, immediately after Daylight Saving Time.
He said the research is clear: springing the clock ahead an hour increases the risk of stroke and car crashes the first week of the time change.
“One of the key things we have is this constant clock, which is going inside our bodies, it’s our circadian rhythm,” he said. “And that circadian rhythm, we like to stay consistent with the same rhythm all the time, that’s why when we travel, for example, jet leg really crushes us.”
That’s why Lawlor is having his employees come in an hour late on Monday so they can slowly adjust to the new schedule.
“We encourage other people to do the same,” he said. “Why do we expect people to make such an adjustment in one swoop, when in fact, we can ease that in over a number of days.”
California voters made it clear in 2018 with Prop 7 that they want a consistent year-round clock. California lawmakers still haven’t made a decision on the details.
Lawlor said it doesn’t matter which clock lawmakers choose because it’s all about consistency.
“At the end of the day, what we want to do is we want to avoid kind of shocking people into waking up at the wrong time unnecessarily,” he said.
