A lot of us have felt this for a long time, but now all the data points to the fact that Daylight Saving is actually doing us harm. Whether it’s just making us all a bit grump, or worse – more likely to have a heart attack, car accident or increase obseity rates… the results really aren’t great. If you’ve woken up feeling groggy though, there’s plenty you can do to improve things. One expert suggests getting as much light as possible this morning, plus a really good breakfast.
In our household, we’ve been veeeeery excited about Daylight Saving arriving. Yes, I love having dinner outside while it’s still light and being able to go for a family bushwalk afterwards. But what I love most, is sleep.
Our toddler has been waking up pre-6am for the last few months and we’re all extremely over it. Finally, if we can get ourselves to bed earlier (and stop sleep procrastination?) we might all be in better shape.
But while I’m over here excited about the possibility of more sleep – for most of us, the start of Daylight Saving means less sleep. A full hour of it – and, likely more as we adjust to the difference.
Our own Sarah Lang has written about how much she dreads it – ‘like jet lag without the duty free’ she described it.
And yes, while I was aware that it had some negative health impacts on us, I had no idea just how high those stakes are.
Here are a few eye-opening stats:
- Hospitals in Michigan, US found heart attacks spike by 24% on the Monday immediately following the shift
- A 2024 review of studies confirmed a 4% increase in heart attack risk across the two weeks that follow putting our clocks forward an hour.
- A 2020 Auckland University research paper found that road accidents increase on the Sunday Daylight Saving begins, and 12% on the Monday
- A 2025 Stanford Medicine Study concluded that if Daylight Saving was removed in the States it would prevent approximately 300,000 cases of stroke per year and result in 2.6 million fewer people having obesity.
- Economists at the London School of Economics estimate that ending daylight saving could deliver wellbeing gains worth roughly NZ$1,400 per person annually, with the wider toll of sleep deprivation — to which clock changes contribute — costing around NZ $680 billion worldwide each year.
Katrina Aubrey, Fatigue and Sleep Specialist at AutoSense, says the health impacts of daylight saving is often underestimated, particularly for people who drive for a living.
“Our body clocks are finely tuned. Losing up to an hour of sleep — as happens every spring — disrupts circadian rhythms and increases fatigue. This sleep deprivation also affects heart health in multiple ways. Poor sleep increases inflammation, which can damage blood vessels and increase heart disease risk, and losing sleep elevates the risk of arrhythmias – irregular heart rhythms – potentially increasing the risk of stroke and heart-related issues,” says Aubrey.
“The fatigue and disruption also affects reaction time, mood and alertness — all critical for safe driving. For professional drivers who work long hours, the impact can be especially dangerous for them, and for everyone they share the road with.”
Making the change
Sleep health expert Dr Carmel Harrington says sleep is critical to our physical and mental health – and yes, daylight saving can be a real challenge for many.
She suggests ideally getting plenty of rest leading up to pushing the clocks forward – but, if you haven’t been able to do that, there’s a few things you can do today to best adjust to the change.
- Make the bedroom as bright as possible when you first wake up in the morning
- Eat a good breakfast
- Go outside in the sunlight in the early mornings
- Try to get between seven to nine hours sleep each night
- Exercise daily but not within 3 hours of sleep time
- Don’t drink coffee, tea or other caffeine drinks after midday, avoid smoking just before bed or during the night
- Don’t go to bed hungry but don’t eat a large meal within 3 hours of bedtime
- Wind down.Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode, so in the hour before bed, switch off technology, dim the lights, have a warm to hot shower and do a calming activity such as reading
If you’re having trouble tonight drifting off to sleep – we recently ran a story that revealed that doing a minimum of just two minutes meditation can greatly improve your quality of sleep and the time it takes to nod off.
And if you’re looking for even more sleep advice, Terri Candy, Sleep Therapist at Eden Sleep says it’s important tonight to disconnect in order to wake up refreshed tomorrow:
“Try and disconnect from the stress, for example getting changed out of work clothes when you get home,” she says. “Mindfulness or relaxation apps are useful also. Even a shower before bed can help, I don’t know anyone who gets out of the shower grumpy. We are all individual so it may take a little trial and error to see what works for you.”
If you do find yourself struggling tonight, she has three things to avoid doing:
- Don’t reach for alcohol as a way to wind down, aside from disrupting your sleep your bladder is likely to wake you up.
- If you can’t sleep, try not to toss and turn. Get up and do something quietly like reading a book.
- Avoid the work computer, social media, and go back to bed when you are feeling drowsy and eyelids droopy.
