One of the single most important things you can do to stay
healthy in body, mind, and spirit, is to get adequate sleep every night.
We all know what it’s like when we set the clocks forward
for Daylight Savings Time in the spring of the year. We “spring ahead” setting
our clocks forward one hour starting this weekend. When you go to bed on
Saturday night, you will move your clock from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Where the
rubber will most likely meet the road is on Sunday evening when you make
yourself go to bed at 9 p.m., wide awake because you know that your 6 a.m.
alarm is going to feel like 5.
You may want to start going to bed a little earlier each
night until Monday. A 2012 study from the University of Alabama shows that the
switch to Daylight Savings Time increases the risk of heart attack on that
first Monday and Tuesday after the time change by 10 percent. Frankly, most of
us have a different sleep schedule on the weekends versus weekdays that often
makes getting going on Monday mornings a drag already. If you are shepherding a
household with children and teens, this can make for an even more dramatic
Monday than usual.
This study further demonstrates that even a small shift in
our sleeping patterns can have an effect on our overall health and wellbeing. There
is a wealth of resources online for helping you enhance the quality of your
sleep naturally. From the obvious limiting of caffeine intake, ways to make the
room and bed more conducive to sleep, adequate daily physical activity, and
more, you can find simple lifestyle changes to help.
When these aren’t working or your sleep issues are affecting
your daily life, seek the help of a physician specializing in sleep medicine.
GRMC has a sleep clinic with Melisa A. Coaker, MS, MD. Dr. Coaker is also a
part of the Mercy Sleep Clinic in Des Moines. The sleep lab offers testing
three nights a week. Dr. Coaker sees patients in Grinnell the first and third
Tuesday of each month. To make an appointment, call 515-358-9640.
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