Spring Forward Messes with More than Time

(CBS)  It's that time of year again, when reminders about changing our clocks pop up everywhere as the United States springs forward into daylight saving time.

Most people love that extra daylight in the evening, but it's a change that comes with more than the catch of losing an hour of sleep Saturday night, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday. It's supposed to save energy -- pushing daylight later in the day means fewer lights turned on at night. Benjamin Franklin, annoyed by an early sunrise in Paris, first came up with the idea. Congress made it law in 1918 during World War I to conserve energy.

But when the country jumps ahead an hour Sunday morning, that one little lost hour of sleep has a big impact.

The number of serious heart attacks goes up 6 to 10 percent (PDF) on the first three workdays after the time change. On Wall Street, economists say sleep-deprived traders often produce "large negative returns" on that following Monday, once estimated at $31 billion.

"It turns out that it takes two to three days - sometimes even longer - to make up and to adjust to that extra hour lost," said Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

Once we do make up for the hour, there's an upside: we're better drivers in daylight, reducing fatal car crashes and pedestrians getting hit.

On the Internet, some offer help with the time switch -- such as advice that people should have started preparing for the transition six days before the clocks change -- while others offer ridicule.

"You didn't just get off a plane from Australia!" one comedian exclaimed in a YouTube video.

[Gbennett32]

DST cost Indiana households an extra $9M yearly in electricity costs. See the Kotchen/Grant study. People save on lighting, but spend more on heating and A/C..

[national1942]

Hey! I LOVE DST. I can't wait for it every spring and I hate it when it's lost in the fall.

[maistir]

Circadian rhythm and its disruption (as in high-speed air travel) create the problems, isn't that the theory? I'd prefer to remain synchronized with daylight, not with the clock.

[eezeriter]

DST is just plain stupid. Those who wish to have one more hour of "playtime", should start the business/school day an hour earlier. Leave the rest of us alone. BTW, how many congress members are golfers?

[rank_n_file]

legacyABQ2 brushes off (trivializes) the article's fraudulent claims saying "wrangler, its just a little interest-piece.. You are exaggerating alot." That's odd. Like reality standing on its head. By legacyABQ2's reckoning, a major news outlet, CBS News, that holds itself out as a reliable source of news and information, gets a FREE PASS when it publishes an absolutely FALSE, fraudulent medical\scientific claim. But legacyABQ2 takes Wrangler to task with the claim "You are exaggerating alot." Why isn't legacyABQ2 complaining that CBS is "exaggerating alot?" How does reality get so inverted for some people? CBS gets a Free Pass why? Because the article is "just a little interest-piece?" Because its just an "entertainment" piece? No. In fact, it is held out by CBS as a "News" story at its "CBSnews" website in the Health section, and it claims to be dispensing newly discovered reliable, accurate medical "facts" established by competent, reliable, disciplined medical \ scientific research. All one can say is that legacyABQ2 and CBS News both have some kind of inborn, stubborn disdain for Truth and accuracy in the media. Contrary to that twisted view, Journalistic Integrity IS IMPORTANT and it is NOT expendable nor is it a trivial issue.

[truth_police]

In response to Truth_Police's earlier post, legacyABQ2 wrote: "Dude, read your own post. They said studies show this happens. Statistics.." legacyABQ2, you simply need to read the article for what it says, not for your revisionary spin on what you think it says. Once again, here is what the lead paragraph actually says, verbatum: "Studies Show Daylight Saving Time Increases Serious Heart Attacks, Decreases Returns on Investments in Week After Change." When it states that DST "Increases Serious Heart Attacks" it is explicitly claiming that DST is the "CAUSE" of "Increases [in] Serious Heart Attacks." Granted, a correct, accurate read of the article's assertions DOES require some basic reading skills. No legacyABQ2, that article claim is NOT merely saying "this happens" -- it is unequivocally, unmistakably, indisputably asserting DST has been proven to "cause" "Increases [in] Serious Heart Attacks, Decreases Returns on Investments." And that is a patently, irresponsibly FALSE claim to make in a header paragraph. legacyABQ2, either deliberately fraudulent, deceptive journalism doesn't bother you or you are unable to cognize it when it's right in front of you.

[hateisafourletterword]

Daylight savings time was better under Carter and Clinton. Under Reagan, Bush and Bush it was worse. We'll just blame Bush.

[barbaram99]

I love summer time..I don't have to set the computer for this as Vista and Win 7 does it. I hate winter time as I can't see in the dark. I don't care for AC. I do like the longer days. I use one lamp at the computer be it summmer time or winter time..My roommate hates summertime..Sommer time means I can safely walk to the store in the lighted evening. Children are to be in bed at the same hour every night be it winter/summer time.

[fueildoasije]

Congratulations on beating the National Enquirer with this scoop.

[rank_n_file]

Thank God someone finally had the guts to do a thorough gumshoe investigation into the evils of Daylight Savings Time. CBS you are my salvation. God love ya! Please call me at your earliest convenience so we can make arrangements for the entire CBS investigation crew and the CBS corporate heads to appear, in person, at my Social Security Disability hearing next month, to explain to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that my DST disability is REAL and is medically legitimate, despite the lack of 'good science' to support such a claim. Make sure you all wear a ties and suit coats to the hearing, because the ALJ feels that tank-tops and flip-flops are a sign of disrespect for the court.