A new study shows more heart attacks in the days following the start of daylight savings time.One less hour of sleep may not be the only side effect of daylight saving time,
it turns out, turning your clock forward, could be bad for your ticker.
Doctors in Sweden looked at the number of heart attacks during the days immediately following the clock change and compared them to the period two weeks before and two weeks after.
They found the incidence of heart attack significantly higher for the first three weekdays after turning the clocks forward.
The rate of heart attacks was also up after clocks fall back- but only for one day after the time change.
Doctors here in the U.S., say it likely relates to altering sleep patterns and sleep deprivation.
"If you burn the candle at both ends then there is a price to pay in long-term health," says Cleveland's Clinic Charles Bae,
Bae points out that a 1995 study says car accidents also increase in the days following the clock change because of tired drivers making roads dangerous.
"You loose that hour and when you get up on Monday morning and are rushed as usual and are not paying enough attention or as much as usual on the way to work," says Bae.
When you set your clocks forward this weekend, Doctors say don't forget to also make time to get a little more sleep, your health and safety may depend on it.
Meanwhile, as we prepare to spring forward tonight, it's also a good time to check some life saving devices inside your home.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is advising Americans to replace the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Fire departments across the country reported an estimated annual average of nearly 379,000 fires and more than 2,700 deaths from 2003 through 2005.
There is an annual average of 171 unintentional non-fire poisoning deaths related to carbon monoxide, which is an odorless, colorless and poisonous gas.
