Ever feel like the clock changes throw your whole week off? You’re not alone. Every spring and fall, millions of people struggle to adjust their sleep, focus, and mood after the time shift. The grogginess, the early darkness, the “why am I this tired?” feeling – it’s all real, and science backs it up.
With Daylight Saving Time returning this weekend, it’s the perfect moment to understand what’s really happening to your body – and how to help it adapt smoothly.
How It Started
The whole idea of changing our clocks to “make better use of daylight” isn’t new – it actually dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During both World Wars, countries adopted Daylight Saving Time (DST) to save energy and extend daylight into the evening hours. It was practical back then – fewer lamps burning meant less fuel wasted.
Over the decades, this twice-a-year ritual – “spring forward” and “fall back” – spread around the world. Many countries still follow it today, though some have abandoned it entirely after realizing that the costs might outweigh the benefits.
How It Is Now
Fast forward to today, and the story has changed. Most of us aren’t lighting kerosene lamps anymore – but we are feeling the effects of moving the clock.
According to a 2019 survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), more than half of Americans (55%) said they felt extremely or somewhat tired after the spring-forward change — including 14% who felt “extremely tired.”
Another AASM survey, from 2020, found that 63% of Americans want to eliminate the seasonal time change altogether in favor of one fixed, year-round time. That includes 38% who “strongly support” the idea.
So, the general mood seems clear: people are tired of feeling tired.
And there’s science behind that fatigue. Researchers have linked these time jumps to more than just grogginess – there’s evidence of short-term spikes in heart attacks, car accidents, and sleep loss in the days following the change.
And yes, this is backed by data – here is what I found:
So while this tradition might have made sense in the past, today’s data and public sentiment both suggest it’s doing more harm than good.
What the Science Says About Sleep and Fatigue
Our bodies are wired to follow light – literally. We operate on a roughly 24-hour internal rhythm called the circadian rhythm, which controls when we feel awake, when we get sleepy, and how alert we…