Daylight Savings Time and Your Health

by | Mar 11, 2013 | Safety, Self-Care, Wellness Tips & Information

By Dr. Donna L. Hamilton, MD, MS

In addition to remembering whether or not you’re moving your clock forward or backward for the daylight savings time change (by the way it’s spring forward, fall back) it’s important to remember a few other health and wellness boosting tips.  You might already know one of the most common tips: Change your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries each time you change your clock.

This can become costly, but what price can you put on the safety and lives of yourself and your family? These potential lifesavers are too important to risk the batteries dying.  Let’s face it, despite best intentions, not everyone changes them as soon as the warning beeps start. That’s why it’s important to keep fresh batteries in them.

If the batteries run low many people actually take them out to stop the annoying chirps, promising they’ll replace them immediately. “Immediately” often turns into days, weeks, or months, increasing your risk of dying in a fire or succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. Don’t risk it. Change your batteries when you change your clock.

Another daylight savings time health boosting tip: Be aware.  The Monday after day light savings time starts has been reported as one of the most dangerous days of the year.  The number of work and traffic accidents increase.  Workplace injuries increase in severity as well as in number, so we’re not talking about just an increased risk of a paper cut. Car accident injuries include passengers and pedestrians as well as drivers,  so you have to be alert as long as you’re on the road.

A third wellness tip to remember after changing your clock: Be gentle with yourself. The risk of having a heart attack increases during the first week after moving your clocks forward.  This doesn’t mean blow off your exercise. Just make a point to stay in tune with your body and honor yourself if you’re feeling sluggish. For example, perhaps a gentler workout might make more sense.

Be safe. Be well.

 

Holistic wellness speaker Dr. Donna L. Hamilton, MD, MS passionately teaches people what being healthy really means and how to do it in a way that fits their unique needs. She enthusiastically teaches a comprehensive approach to health and wellness that addresses mental, emotional, social, spiritual and physical well-being. Dr. Hamilton-a former board certified pediatrician-now specializes in health optimization. She retired her white coat and stethoscope and now speaks nationally about holistically improving health and well-being.  For more information visit http://www.ManifestExcellence.com

Donna Hamilton, MD, MS, FAAP
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