Today’s blog post comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s NIOSH Science Blog, via Jon Gelman of Jon L. Gelman, L.L.C., who is a respected advocate for injured workers in New Jersey.

Daylight saving time has many concerns that come along with the “springing ahead” of the clocks. In addition to the added challenge of being on time to commitments on Sunday and also on time to work on Monday and throughout that week, there are some very real safety concerns that have to do with the time change.

“It can take about one week for the body to adjust the new times for sleeping, eating, and activity (Harrison, 2013). Until they have adjusted, people can have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up at the right time. This can lead to sleep deprivation and reduction in performance, increasing the risk for mistakes including vehicle crashes. Workers can experience somewhat higher risks to both their health and safety after the time changes (Harrison, 2013). A study by Kirchberger and colleagues (2015) reported men and persons with heart disease may be at higher risk for a heart attack during the week after the time changes in the Spring and Fall,” according to the original article from the CDC’s NIOSH Science Blog.

In addition, a source from this blog post that ran last year, argues that adjusting to the time change can actually take people up to three weeks to recover, and night owls are on the longer end of that spectrum. Also, those who sleep fewer hours – seven or less per day – will struggle more with time changes, according to the CDC’s article, which is linked to above.

Finally, as mentioned on social media during the last Trucker Tuesday posts, you never know what the person next to you is doing or how he or she has been sleeping, so truck drivers and people on the road should take extra care to have safety and defensive driving in mind, especially this week.

“Remind workers to be especially vigilant while driving, at work, and at home to protect themselves since others around them may be sleepier and at risk for making an error that can cause a vehicle crash or other accident,” according to the CDC.

Finally, I would urge you to both have fun and take it easy until your body is used to the perception of an increase in the daylight hours, which brings more time to work and do outside things that mean the arrival of spring! Take care.

Spring forward Fall back. We all know the saying to help us remember to adjust our clocks for the daylight savings time changes (this Sunday in case you are wondering). But, what can we do to help workers adjust to the effects of the time change? A few studies have examined these issues but many questions remain on this topic including the best strategies to cope with the time changes. By moving the clocks ahead one hour in the Spring, we lose one hour which shifts work times and other scheduled events one hour earlier. This pushes most people to have a one hour earlier bedtime and wake up time. In the Fall, time moves back one hour. We gain one hour which shifts work times and other scheduled events one hour later thereby pushing most people to have a one hour later bedtime and wake up time. It can take about one week for the body to adjust the new times for sleeping, eating, and activity (Harrision, 2013). Until they have adjusted, people can have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up at the right time. This can lead to sleep deprivation and reduction in performance, increasing the risk for mistakes including vehicle crashes. Workers can experience somewhat higher risks to both their health and safety after the time changes (Harrison, 2013). A study by Kirchberger and colleagues (2015) reported men and persons with heart disease may be at higher risk for a heart attack during the week after the time changes in the Spring and Fall. The reason for these…

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