The time change affects our biorhythm

Sleep researchers: The time change affects the human biorhythm

30/10/2011

At 3:00 pm on the night of Sunday, the clocks were reset by one hour in the morning. Thus, the night was an hour longer and the winter time is heralded. While late sleepers may benefit from the time change, early risers may experience mild to moderate ailments. Not a few people are the constant changes of the times health problems, because the biorhythms of the human organism gets mixed up.

On the night of Sunday, the clocks were reset by one hour (from 3:00 to 2:00). This turns the summer time into winter time. For humans, the change of time means a change in the biorhythm, because life, especially in western industrialized countries, follows a set tact, which ignores light and dark. Although people have been given an hour back by the time change, fatigue, fatigue, nausea or malaise may develop over the next few days, because our daily routine is now changed.

Mini jet lag with low impact?
Dr. Dieter Kunz, chief physician of the Department of Sleep Medicine at the St. Hedwig Hospital in Berlin, has been researching the biological rhythm of humans for more than 15 years. The focus is on vitality and the different abilities during the course of a day, month or whole year. While some doctors, non-medical practitioners or politicians criticize the time change as a harmful interference with the biological rhythm of man, the doctor does not want to generally join this position. An hour before or back is for Kunz only a so-called „Mini jet lag“, which has only a very small influence on the body. By comparison, night and shift work or long-haul flights are much more dangerous and have a greater impact on biotact and health. Many people experience the changeover to winter time as quite positive. This is not because Sunday, strictly speaking, is 25 hours instead of 24, but because many people like to sleep in and go to bed late. Especially on Sunday, which is traditionally used in families to sleep in, the conversion is experienced as very pleasant. After all, one more hour can be slept on Sunday morning without missing anything.

While the so-called „late types“, whose inner clock is always a little bit behind the normal daily routine true beneficiaries, some problems could become noticeable with early risers. According to the sleep researcher Kunz about ten percent of people in Germany are true early risers. So that means that maybe one in ten could possibly suffer in October after the transition.

Time change intervenes in the biological clock
While conventional medicine, at least during the changeover to winter time, speaks of a low mini-jetlag, the topic of natural healing is the subject of recurrent controversial discussions. Naturopathic oriented doctors and naturopaths have long been calling for the abolition of winter / summer time changes. The constant change brings people from the inner clock. Above all sensitive people in these phases suffer increasingly from sleep disorders, inner restlessness, headaches, tiredness and irritability. Some statistics show that in these time frames, the intake activities of antidepressants and sleeping pills temporarily increase. Naturopath Andre Tonak says the changeover to winter time is „a subtle but not to be underestimated stress factor for the body and psyche“. Even if it is only about 60 minutes more or less, „Microstress causes some people to a kind of jet lag feeling“. Some people are suffering „Consequences of depression, infection susceptibility and / or sleep disturbance“. „After about ten to fourteen days, the body has become accustomed to the new tact and the previous general condition returns again.“ Tonak explains. To bridge the healer advises natural active ingredients such as St. John's wort, valerian or lemon balm to take and lead as possible a stress-free lifestyle. Sufficient exercise in the fresh air and a wholesome healthy diet are „Balm for body and soul“. Dr. Alexander Blau of the Interdisciplinary Sleep Medicine Center of the Berlin University Hospital Charité advises those affected to eat light meals, to move around enough during the day to enjoy plenty of sunlight. But what if work and everyday life leave no room for these advices??

Hormonal means exaggerated and redundant
The biorhythm depends in part on the secretion of the hormone melatonin. Some people might come up with the idea of ​​compensating for symptoms that have been described. The sleep scientist Kunz holds this idea for „far too exaggerated“. Instead, one should expose oneself to the natural alternation of light and dark. „Especially important here are the light in the morning and the darkness in the early evening hours“, says Kunz „World Online“. If you do not get into the subway in the morning, but for once go to a stop on foot and enjoy the brightness of the day, „is already doing a lot of work to make it easy for him to switch to winter time.“ Because at the moment it is getting light early in the morning, that should take advantage of those affected, „to change the organism to winter time“.

Time change promotes winter depression
A 2010 survey of the Deutsche Angestellten Krankenkasse revealed that around 25 percent of women react to individual complaints during the time changeover. For men, only thirteen percent of respondents said that changing clocks causes them physical or mental problems. It is unclear why the gender ratio was so unequal. It may be that men are reluctant to admit to being somatic.

The change of time makes it dark in the evening earlier. However, most people are bound by their professional lives at an equal time sequence, which is why many times the experienced darkness in the morning and evening favors the so-called winter depression. Experts speak in this context of a "Seasonal Dependent Depression" (SAD). The lack of natural sunlight causes less production of the hormone serotonin responsible. Among other things, serotonin is responsible for a positive mood. In contrast, melatonin levels increase due to the increasing darkness. This hormone is responsible for sleep control. Especially in wintertime, therefore, many people complain under the said winter depression. In the article „Home remedy for winter depression“ Find useful and natural tips on how to deal with them. (Sb)

Also read:
Time change promotes winter depression
Time change: more accidents and sleep disturbances
Sleep training helps children with sleep disorders
Time conversion can provoke sleep disorders
Biorhythm suffers from time change

Picture: Simone Lademann