When Does Daylight Savings Time Begin?

Before you hit the hay tonight make sure you've set all your clocks ahead one hour. Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on March 10.

We frame it as "springing ahead," mostly to make it easier to remember that clocks go forward in spring and back in the fall, but we all know that losing an hour of sleep takes a good week or two (or three) to adjust to.

Ask Till Roenneberg, a chronobiologist at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, who underscores the futility of adjusting to man-made time shifts.

It's all about our circadian rhythm, natures built-in mechanism that affects our behavior, which is triggered primarily by the amount of light and darkness in an organism’s environment, including human beings.

Roenneberg's studies show that our circadian body clocks never adjust to gaining an "extra" hour of sunlight at the end of the day during daylight saving time.

"The consequence of that is that the majority of the population has drastically decreased productivity, decreased quality of life, increasing susceptibility to illness, and is just plain tired," Roenneberg said.

According to Roenneberg, light doesn't have the same affect on the body in the morning as it does in the evening.

"More light in the morning would advance the body clock, and that would be good. But more light in the evening would even further delay the body clock," Roenneberg said.

Other studies, including this one published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008 concluded that in some instances, heart attack risks go up in the days around the spring time change.

Imre Janszky, lead author of the study, blames daylight savings.

"The most likely explanation to our findings are disturbed sleep and disruption of biological rhythms," Janszky said.

And not the least of the risks associated with losing sleep: The statistical increase in traffic accidents immediately following Daylight Saving Time. Drowsy drivers are a known hazard, according to the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration.

So what can you do to ease your body into it's unnatural new time regimen?

Some tips we found on EverydayHealth.com:

Saturday (March 9):

• Cut out the caffeine and alcohol
  
  Even if you think you're immune to its effects, caffeine within six hours of bedtime can prevent you from falling asleep at night. Ditto, alcohol, which suppresses your slow-wave sleep, which restores you and helps you to wake up feeling refreshed.

• Don't wait until bedtime to turn back the clocks.
  
  If you turn clocks back earlier in the day Saturday you will get used to seeing the time and it will prompt you to follow your normal winding down habits.

• Say goodnight to your Facebook friends earlier than usual.
  
  Also turn off the television and resist the urge to text or use your iPhone to surf the next. Instead, dim the lights, put on some relaxing music, read a book, or take a soak in the tub, all things that get your body ready for sleep mode.

• No nightlights
  
  Your circadian body clock is triggered by temperature and light. Have your thermostat set no higher than 70 degrees. Make sure all the lights are out and put an extra blanket over your window, if it lets in ambient light.

On Sunday (March 10)

• Get some vitamin D
  Exposure to bright light first thing in the morning cues your body to stop emitting melatonin, a natural sleep hormone. Go for a brisk morning walk or at least sit on the deck where the sun will hit you for maximum effect.

As the week wears on:

• Do your best to avoid over caffeinating to compensate

Instead, drink plenty of water with a splash of lemon or grapefruitseed oil; eat well  – citrus fruits, apple slices, salads. Take a few 15 minute brisk walks during the day, especially if you find yourself feeling sluggish. and plan to get to bed earlier than your usual schedule at least for the first week after Daylight Saving.

• Power nap when possible.
• Eat well

Here is a list 11 snacks that boost your energy, from Fitnessmagazine.com, as you recouperate from the fallout from Daylight Saving Time.