By Melissa PatrickKentucky Health News It’s almost time to “spring forward” one hour into daylight saving time, which can take some adjusting to with the loss of an hour of sleep. Daylight saving time begins Sunday, March 8, at 2 a.m. local time. Sleep expert Dr. Sudha Tallavajhula, with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, says in a UTHealth Houston news release that while most people are able to handle the time change, it can be especially challenging for those who struggle to fall asleep. Here are some of Tallavajhula’s tips to adjust to the change: If possible, move back your natural sleep schedule by 15 minutes each day in the week leading up to daylight saving time. Even practicing this tip two to three days before the time change can be beneficial. The best solution is to wake up 15 minutes earlier every day and gain exposure to daylight. Sunlight is the most effective gatekeeper for our circadian rhythms. If you need more help adjusting, adults can use low-dose melatonin, between 3 and 5 milligrams. Asked how much sleep adults and children need, Tallavajhula said, “The expert consensus is that most adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep. In children, there is variation depending on age. Teenagers may need 8-10 hours, younger school-age children 9-12 hours, and preschoolers 10-13 hours.” The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also suggests that people adjust their other daily routines, such as mealtimes, to match their new schedule before the time change and to set their clocks to the new time change on Saturday evening, and go to bed at their normal time. Further, AASM has taken a position that daylight saving time should be eliminated because it doesn’t align with humans’ internal circadian rhythms and is associated with a long list of negative health impacts, including a surge of heart attacks, strokes and car crashes, to name a few. “It is the position of the AASM that the U.S. should eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of permanent standard time, which aligns best with human circadian biology. Current evidence supports the distinct benefits of standard time for health and safety, while also underscoring the potential harms that result from seasonal time changes to and from daylight saving time, ” according to the AASM website. AASM adds that surveys show that the majority of U.S. adults support the elimination of seasonal time changes in favor of a national, fixed, year-round time. Federal law allows individual states to exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time, and Kentucky has a bill to do that. However, House Bill 368, sponsored by Rep. Steven Doan, R-Erlanger, has not yet been heard by its assigned House State Government Committee. The post Don’t forget to turn clocks ahead March 8; tips to maintaining good sleep habits with the change appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less