5 Ways Daylight Saving Affects You

With onset of warmer temperatures and more intense angle of the sun combined with an extra hour of daylight, I noticed during my radio show, that people were acting a bit different than just a week ago. Yes, daylight savings time is now back in affect. I know I'm still feeling a bit groggy from missing an hour of sleep Saturday night and I know I'm not alone.

As of 2005, daylight savings time now lasts four weeks longer. You will recall that  President George W. Bush signed into law the the Energy Policy Act that mandates that DST now at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The exceptions are Hawaii and Arizona, where standard time id observed year-round.

Here are 5 Ways that Daylight Savings time affects you

1. Your Health: According to a 2008 study done by a research firm in Finland. losing an hour of sleep will affect those who stay up late more so than those who get up early.

The study also found that everyone's sleep patterns can be disrupted by the transition into or out of DST. That may be especially true in Kazakhstan, where the government did away with DST in 2005 after calculating that 51.6 percent of Kazakhs responded badly to the time change.

2. Heart Attacks: According to a 2008 study published in New England Journal of Medicine,  during the first week of daylight savings time, there is greater likelihood of heart attacks. Alternately, there was a slight drop in attacks during the first week after savings time ends.

Net effect: "spring forward" results to sleep deprivation, which affects heart health. Conversely, the extra hour of "fall back" sleep promotes general well-being.

3. Driving: People are safer drivers during daylight hours. Data from U.S. News Health shows that observing daylight savings time year-round could prevent 195 motor-vehicle deaths and 171 pedestrian fatalities per year.

4. Energy: The average person (except those Americans living in Hawaii and Arizona) will use one percent less energy for lighting but 2 percent to 3 percent more for heating and air-conditioning.

5: Time Wasted: If you are like me you have wasted countless hours trying to remember how to change that darn clock in your car and on your microwave.

And now a bit of Daylight Savings humor: