Summary: A University of Bristol-led study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, analyzed sleep patterns among nearly 12,000 people in the UK to understand the impact of spring and autumn clock changes on sleep duration. While it’s commonly believed that people gain an hour of sleep with the fall clock change, the study found that, on average, people slept only about 30 minutes more—not a full hour. Additionally, men and women responded differently to both clock changes, with men generally sleeping more during the weekdays after the time shifts, whereas women often experienced less sleep, potentially due to greater insomnia sensitivity.
Key Takeaways:
- Limited Sleep Gain in Fall: Despite the expectation of an hour’s extra sleep in autumn, participants gained only about 30 minutes on average.
- Gender Differences in Response: After both clock changes, men tended to sleep more, especially after the spring shift, while women often slept less, possibly due to higher insomnia susceptibility.
- Health Implications: The springtime loss of sleep has health consequences, as even one night of sleep deprivation can negatively impact physical and mental health, aligning with research linking clock changes to higher risks of heart issues, accidents, and depression.
With the clocks going back this weekend, a new study has found that moving the clocks one hour forward in spring and one hour back in autumn has a substantial but short-lived effect on sleep duration.
The University of Bristol-led study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research today, analysed sleep data from activity monitors worn by 11,800 people over the spring and autumn clock changes in 2013-2015. The study is unique in that it analyzed objectively-measured sleep in a large number of people in the UK who are signed up to UK Biobank.
It is commonly thought that people lose an hour of sleep in spring (when the clocks go forward an hour) and gain hour of sleep in autumn (when the clocks go back an hour). Previous research also suggests that people get less sleep for around a week after both clock changes as they find it difficult to adapt to the new time.
Effects Differ By Gender
The study also found that the effect on sleep for the rest of the week differed depending on gender. Men tended to sleep more on the weekdays after both clock changes, although this was more pronounced in spring. However, this pattern of catch-up sleep was not seen for women. They often slept for less on the weekdays after the clock changes than before. This could be because women experience higher levels of insomnia and sleep difficulties and that these problems are exacerbated by the clock changes.
Although short-lived, the sleep loss seen over the spring clock change in this study has serious consequences for health, as just one night of sleep loss has been associated with a decline in mental and physical health. Also, research has found that the clock changes themselves are associated with an increase in heart attacks, strokes, road traffic accidents, and depression.
“With a growing number of countries, including the US and those in the EU, moving to end the clock changes, the practice of daylight saving time is the focus of much current debate,” says Melanie de Lange, a Wellcome -funded epidemiology PhD student in the Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences and MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, and study author, in a release. “Our study adds to the growing body of evidence that the shift forward to daylight saving time in spring is associated with an acute loss of sleep, which has implications for the health of the UK population. It is crucial that any future review of the UK’s daylight saving time policy considers the effects of the clock changes on sleep and health.”
ID 53726858 © Katarzyna Bialasiewicz | Dreamstime.com
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