The Switch to Daylight Savings Time Can Kill You Read more: The Switch to Daylight Savings Time Can Kill You Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

Although you may welcome the extra hour of sunshine that comes with switching to daylight savings time, it could be disastrous for your health. Studies show that the stress of simply changing your routine by one hour increases your risk of having a heart attack. In addition, the first Monday of daylight savings time brings a rise in traffic accidents and workplace injuries. "Many people already are chronically sleep-deprived, and daylight saving time can make them even more tired for a few days," Dr. Nidhi Undevia, medical director of the Sleep Program at Loyola University Health System, said in a statement. Studies show that, on average, people begin their Monday after the time switch with 40 minutes less sleep. For people who are already chronically sleep-deprived, the time change can make them feel even worse — and increase the health risks associated with time change. A Swedish study found that the number of serious heart attacks increased by up to 10 percent during the first three workdays following the beginning of daylight savings time. "Exactly why this happens is not known, but there are several theories," said University of Alabama at Birmingham's Dr. Martin Young. "Sleep deprivation, the body’s circadian clock, and immune responses all can come into play when considering reasons that changing the time by an hour can be detrimental to someone’s health," he said in a statement. These 4 Things Happen Right Before a Heart Attack The three main reasons for increased risk are: • Sleep deprivation. "Individuals who are sleep-deprived weigh more and are at an increased risk of developing diabetes or heart disease," said Young. "Sleep deprivation also can alter other body processes, including inflammatory response, which can contribute to a heart attack. And, your reaction to sleep deprivation and the time change also depends on whether you are a morning person or night owl. Night owls have a much more difficult time with springing forward." • Circadian clock. "Every cell in the body has its own clock that allows it to anticipate when something is going to happen and prepare for it," Young said. "When there is a shift in one’s environment, such as springing forward, it takes a while for the cells to readjust. It’s comparable to knowing that you have a meeting at 2 p.m. and having time to prepare your presentation instead of being told at the last minute and not being able to prepare. The internal clocks in each cell can prepare it for stress or a stimulus. When time moves forward, cell clocks are anticipating another hour to sleep that they won’t get, and the negative impact of the stress worsens; it has a much more detrimental effect on the body.” •Immune function. “Immune cells have a clock, and the immune response depends greatly on the time of day. In animal studies, when a mouse is given a sub-lethal dose of LPS, an endotoxin that elicits strong immune responses in animals, the mouse’s survival depends upon the time of day they were given this endotoxin," Young said. "Mice that were put through a phased advance much like daylight savings time, and then had a challenge to their immune system, died, whereas the control animals that were not subjected to a phased advance survive when given the same dose of LPS, showing how an acute time change can be detrimental to the immune system response.” There are other dangers associated with the spring time change. The journal Accident Analysis and Prevention reported an increase of 11 percent in traffic accidents. "The change throws off our internal clock, and it can take as long as two weeks for our bodies to adjust," said David Reich, public relations director for The National Road Safety Foundation. "Drowsiness can be as dangerous as drinking and driving." In addition, a study published in the journal Sleep and Biological Rhythm found that men are more likely to commit suicide following the time switch than at any other time during the year. Dr. Young gives the following tips to help cope with the time change: • Wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual on Saturday and Sunday to get a jump on Monday's early start. • Eat a decent-sized breakfast. • Go outside in the sunlight in the early morning. • Exercise in the mornings over the weekend (as long as you do not have pre-existing heart disease). "Doing all of this will help reset both the central, or master, clock in the brain that reacts to changes in light/dark cycles, and the peripheral clocks — the ones everywhere else including the one in the heart — that react to food intake and physical activity," Young said. "This will enable your body to naturally synch with the change in the environment, which may lessen your chance of adverse health issues on Monday."