Doctors question health impacts of Daylight Saving Time

BALTIMORE — We've sprung ahead for the start of daylight saving time, and a lot of us are still feeling the effects.

It may just be an hour, but doctors say daylight saving time can result in a number of health and even safety issues.

Sharnice Jones never looks forward to this time of year. When WJZ asked her what it's like to lose an hour, she described it as terrible.

"I feel very fatigued, it's harder for me to get up," she said.

The same for Blair Waksmunsi, sleep is hard to come by as it is at his household.

"As a dad of three young boys under five-years-old, it's tough enough with sleep deprivation," Waksmunsi said. "But, with that extra hour, we're kind of feeling the effects."

Dr. Emerson Wickwire, the Section Head of Sleep Medicine at the University of Maryland Center, said the shift in our circadian rhythm can lead to several issues.

Tiredness, he says, is just the tip of the iceberg.

"We know that the number of motor vehicle crashes, the number of heart attacks, the number of strokes: all of these events are significantly increased in the [next] very few days right now. So be alert," Wickwire said.

To make the adjustment as painless as possible, Wickwire recommends getting more sleep than usual this week.

Overall, though, you should take it slow.

"This is a great week to what I call lower the bar," Wickwire said. "In other words, we know that we're going to have additional stressors related to the shift to daylight saving time. Plan your schedule accordingly."

Jones already is planning to change up her routine a little this week.

"Going to sleep earlier is one of my biggest things right now, before 10-o-clock, hopefully," she said.

There is a house bill in committee right now looking to make daylight saving time permanent in Maryland. 

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Medical Association have come out against legislation like this, instead preferring permeant standard time.