Turn Back the Clock, Not Your Health
Healthy Habits to Adopt with Daylight Saving Time Ending

Most of the time, a day being referred to as “dark” or “black” alludes to a particularly infamous day in America’s history, like the stock market crashing, retail stores being swarmed by overzealous Christmas shoppers (i.e. often referred to as “Black Friday”) or a military campaign gone awry.

But every year, there’s a dark day that is literally dark – and that day is this Sunday, when Americans from sea to shining sea set their clocks back an hour and say goodbye to the sun an hour earlier than normal.

Now, on the surface, turning the clocks back an hour may seem beneficial.  After all – it’s an extra hour of sleep, and given how sleep-deprived most of us are, an extra hour’s sleep is a rare gift, indeed.

Well, I’m here to dispel that supposed benefit because the “reward” of an extra hour of sleep is more like a punishment.

Now, again, losing one hour of daylight may not seem like a whole heck of a lot, especially for those who spend their workdays cooped up in an office.  But the truth of the matter is that even if you’re not a farmer – whose very livelihood depends on the sun – you’re still adversely affected.  Because like it or not, less sunlight translates into poorer health, both in the short term and the long term.

Less Sun Means Less Vitamin D

If there’s anything that I’ve written about over the last few years, it’s vitamin D.   Vitamin D and it’s importance to our overall health has received such scrutiny because D deficiencies have been linked to a host of health hazards, like increasing the incidence of colds, cardiovascular disease cases, metabolic syndrome, and Parkinson’s disease.  So when you take the most abundant source of vitamin D the earth has to offer away, it invariably follows that vitamin D levels drop precipitously.  That’s bad news for you, and bad news for people with pre-existing conditions, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD.  In a recent study, researchers found that people with COPD who also had a vitamin D deficiency were more likely to suffer from other lung problems, like emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

In light (pardon the pun) of the downturn in health effects, scientists in parts of Europe are trying to convince legislators and parliamentarians to do away with the whole “spring forward/fall back” practice.  Scientists like Mayer Hillman of the Policy Studies Institute in Britain say that doing this would improve people’s moods, lower the rates of sickness and disease, and increase productivity by guaranteeing 300 extra hours of daylight annually.

The chances Britain adopts such a “clock shock” are anyone’s guess. And even if they do make the change, there’s no guarantee the U.S. Congress will follow suit.  After all, it takes an awful lot to make laws, never mind change them once they’ve been established.

So, where does that leave you and me?  It’s not like we can go it alone and refuse to turn the clocks back (unless you’re in Arizona, of course, which is the only state in the union that does not turn their clocks back).   Well, I suppose you could, but I’m not sure your boss would be to keen on your reasoning.

Well, fortunately, there are things you can do to increase your mood and decrease your risk for disease as our days of daylight diminish.

Light Therapy

Light therapy is exactly like it sounds – it’s a treatment that uses artificial sources of light to improve one’s mood and vitamin deficiencies.  But tanning beds or removing the lampshades in dimly lit rooms won’t mimic the therapeutic effects of light therapy.  Light therapy boxes – which produce a special kind of ultraviolet light can be purchased at relatively inexpensive prices – are preferable.

But if you ask me, nothing beats the natural sunshine.  That means that you should make alterations to your daily grind to get yourself some direct sunlight for at least 20 to 30 minutes per day.  Ideally, take a walk.  Taking a daily walk while the sun shines is just what the light doctor ordered, as proponents suggest doing something productive during a light therapy session.

Alternative Vitamin D Sources

While there’s no better single source of vitamin D than the sun, there are other sources to go to for cold and disease “D”fense (among other things, vitamin D supplementation cuts the risk of skin cancer by 25 percent and helps off possible infections in pregnant women).

Seafood sources like salmon (a 3-ounce serving has about 800 IUs of vitamin D, the average adult needs at least 400 and 600 IUs per day), mackerel (3-ounce serving = about 400 IUs) and canned tuna (3-ounce serving = about 150 IUs) are the most plentiful.  But for people who are allergic or advised against eating seafood – like pregnant women, for example – fortified orange juice (one cup = 100 IUs) and fortified cereals like Total (one cup = 34 IUs) are satisfactory replacements.

Finally, there are vitamin D supplements.  Check into the medical literature behind the vitamin D supplement you’re using or plan on using.  Even better, use consumer-friendly resources like ConsumerLab.com, an independent organization that’s been testing thousands of supplements since 1999, ensuring companies are providing what they claim.

Then again, if you consume cod liver oil, you’re already ahead of the game!  Cod liver oil is chockfull of vitamin D, providing 1,360 IUs per spoonful!

All that said, it is possible to overdo it on vitamin D.  Yes, vitamin D deficiency is what health professionals are most concerned about, but there is such a thing as vitamin D toxicity.  For instance, feeling nauseated after spending hours at the beach may be heat exhaustion, but there’s just as good of a chance that it’s the body reacting to a vitamin D surfeit  (e.g. classic symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, weakness).

To summarize, the sun may be setting on us, and March 13 may be a ways away (i.e. when daylight saving time begins again).  But with a few alterations, you can turn the darkest days of the year into the brightest, healthiest days of your life!

Sources
geography.about.com
newsmaxhealth.com
businessweek.com
ods.od.nih.gov
drweil.com
mayoclinic.com