Health Problems Associated With Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time is here again. That’s good news because it means that spring is on the way and the warm summer months are coming up fast. But it’s bad news from a health perspective because the sudden moving the clock forward an hour can have some seriously bad health effects, especially for seniors. The impact of Daylight Savings Time on health is only now really starting to be understood. Seniors who live in states where Daylight Savings Time is practiced need to make sure that they guard against common health problems that happen just after Daylight Savings Time starts like:

Increased Risk Of Heart Attack

According to studies that were done seniors have a 24% higher chance of having a heart attack in the period directly after Daylight Savings Time begins. That may seen high, but the process of changing the time, losing sleep, and other stress caused by the time change can put a lot of stress on the heart. Seniors who have cardiovascular disease have an even higher risk of having a heart attack after Daylight Savings Tine starts. A senior home care provider can remind your parent to take their heart medication at the precise time and with the correct dosage.

Increased Risk Of Strokes

Heart attacks aren’t the only sudden medical events that seniors need to worry about after making the time change. The risk of seniors having a stroke goes up 8% in the time directly after Daylight Savings Time starts. Seniors that have already had a stroke have a higher risk of having another stroke, so seniors who have had a stroke need to be sure that they have senior home care during this time. Seniors who have senior home care will always have someone in the home to call help if your senior parent does have a stroke.

Depression

Seniors that suffer from depression might find that their symptoms get worse around the time that Daylight Savings Time begins. Some of that depression may be seasonal depression, but seniors shouldn’t leave anything up to chance. If your senior parent has depression make sure that they talk to their doctor or psychologist about the issues they’re having after the time change to make sure that they get professional help that can help them set new goals and adjust to the changing times.

Digestive Issues

Women who are over age 60 have a 3% increased risk of having digestive problems like colitis after Daylight Savings Time starts. People often eat more during the transition to Daylight Savings Time too as a way to cope the time change and that can trigger a different set of issues. Seniors, especially senior women, should be eating a healthy diet that is mostly vegetables to help them keep up a healthy diet during the change to Daylight Savings Time.

Sources:
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/daylight-savings-time-your-health
https://utswmed.org/medblog/daylight-saving-time-sleep-health/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/how-daylight-saving-time-poses-a-host-of-health-concerns-according-to-a-neurologist