Daylight time vs. Seniors

I always have mixed emotions about the change to Daylight Savings Time in the spring. On the one hand, I love the beautiful signs of spring that are part of this time of year, the greening of the grass, the budding trees, and spring flowers everywhere. New life, an annual gift from our Creator! I also love the extended hour of light in the evenings.

But on the other hand, the springtime changeover with its hour loss of sleep can be a disrupter, especially to seniors. I had just about decided to write about it this week after doing some research, and when I called my son this morning and heard him groan from loss of sleep over the weekend, that cinched it.

Three things I found about the time change from AgingCare.com®:

1. Sleep struggles: Interruption in regular sleep patterns is by far the biggest problem following a daylight saving time shift. Even a small change in your snooze schedule can knock your natural circadian rhythm out of whack. The resulting lack of sleep in the days following a clock change can lead to grogginess and loss of mental acuity.

2. Heart attack hazard: Heart attack rates spike by about five percent in the days after the March time change, according to a 2008 study published by researchers from the Karolinska Instituet in Sweden. The same study showed that there is a subsequent drop in heart attack occurrences in the fall, when the clocks get turned back.

3. Car crash concerns: Daylight saving time also appears to impact automobile accident rates. The Monday morning immediately following the “spring forward” time change is riddled with as many as 17 percent more fatal car crashes than normal, according to Canadian researchers. Experts aren’t in agreement as to exactly why this occurs, though many speculate that the phenomenon stems from an increase in sleepy drivers, and those running late for work.

While I wouldn’t bet my life on those studies, they do seem to make intuitive sense. I do know from personal experience that few things affect seniors’ overall health more than the quality of their sleep. I vividly remember when I was going through a health crisis back in 2001, sleep was so elusive that it put me in a negative spiral. The only way out at the time was extended use of sleep aids. And then when sleep was finally stabilized after several months, weaning off the sleep aids was another challenge. So, if you’re able to sleep well, enjoy it; if not, I suggest you get the medical attention you need.

Finally, I owe you some feedback on how it’s going with the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine I started using and wrote about a few months ago. So here it is:

1. It took awhile to get used to sleeping with the CPAP mask but I’ve gotten over that.

2. It has absolutely stopped the Sleep Apnea I was suffering from, thereby greatly reducing the risk of irregular heart rhythms and stroke.

So, if you or one of your loved ones is suffering from sleep apnea, I highly recommend you discuss it with your doctor and see if a CPAP machine would help you too.

Hope you’re enjoying spring and Daylight Saving Time as much as I am.

Thanks for reading All About Seniors … see you next week!

Bill Milby, CSA, is a Certified Senior Advisor and a Director of Visiting Angels® of Macon, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsMacon.

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