(WXYZ) — In just a few days, we spring forward. Hundreds of millions of Americans will lose an hour of sleep. But for many of us here in Michigan, the impact of that change may hit even harder than it does in other parts of the country.
Watch Keenan's report below
That’s because of something most people never think about: where we sit inside our time zone.
New parents Jim and McKenzie are looking forward to the time change.
"(We're) not too concerned about the baby. He's only two and a half months old, so he's not into much of a routine," McKenzie said.
"It feels like extra time. You have more options at night or right after work," Jim said.
But others disagree, like one daycare worker I spoke with.
"Childcare is really difficult to switch back and forth for the kids' schedules. And so picking one and sticking with it would be really great," said Jessica from Royal Oak.
Dr. Abdulghani Sankari, a sleep specialist with the Detroit Medical Center, says we all struggle with resetting our internal clocks with the time change.
"When we spring forward, we abruptly advance the clock one hour," Dr. Sankari said. "But the internal clock that is the biological clock in our brain is very powerful, (and) does not instantly shift."
But Michiganders have an extra challenge. We live on the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone. That means all year long, our sun rises and sets are later than for people living on the East Coast. For instance, sunrise in Detroit when we spring forward is 7:02 a.m., but in Boston it's 47 minutes earlier at 6:15 a.m.
Our later sunrise delays our natural "wake signals," and the bright evenings delay the release of natural sleep-promoting melatonin. That robs us of sleep.
"And that has significant effects over a long period of time," said Dr. Sankari.
Studies comparing time-zone borders find:
- Less average sleep on the western side of time zones
- Higher rates of obesity & heart disease
- Increased rates of cancer across time zones
Large population studies comparing counties across time-zone borders have found that people living on the later-sunset side tend to get less sleep on average and show higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Other research has found cancer rates increase gradually from the eastern edge of a time zone to the western edge.
"But now we're advancing the hour also. So that compounded even further," Dr. Sankari said.
Morning light is the strongest signal that tells our body it’s time to wake up and be alert. When sunrise happens later, but work and school start times stay the same, our internal clock can fall out of sync with our social clock.
Scientists call that circadian misalignment or social jet lag. And this weekend, we face the double threat of being on the western edge of the eastern time zone and the shift to daylight saving time.
Kids and teens face another challenge: pushing bedtimes later while alarms stay the same.
"They basically prefer to go to bed late and wake up late. Natural, that's physiological," Dr. Sankari said. "I would call it triple threat, and that is not good for overall health and optimum performance."
Many sleep experts suggest switching to permanent standard time to better align our social & biological clocks. There have been efforts in Congress, and metro Detroiter Carlo says he’s heard it all before.
"It's been an ongoing topic. Nothing ever gets done, just like politics," Carlo said.
So, what can we do?
- Shift bedtime 10-15 minutes a day starting now
- Limit screen time
- Keep a consistent morning wake-up through the weekend, and expose yourself to sunlight as early as possible to reset your natural biological clock.
So as we get ready to spring forward this weekend, the takeaway is simple. Our bodies are regulated by sunlight, not social schedules. One researcher describes it as "eastern timezone social clocks with central timezone biological clocks". And here in Michigan, that mismatch can feel even stronger 8 months of the year with the switch to daylight saving time.
