Changing to Daylight Saving Time Cuts Into Sleep and Increases Workplace Injuries
Daylight Saving Time ended last Sunday and I would say that many Americans enjoyed the “fall back” and getting an extra hour of sleep. I would also say that many Americans find it much harder to “spring forward” at the beginning of Daylight Saving Time when you lose an hour of sleep.
A recent study by the Journal of Applied Psychology looks at the effect that Daylight Saving Time has on American workers and the results are surprising.
The authors of the study found that on the Monday following the “spring forward” that workers have a 5.7% increase in injuries and that the injuries are more severe, losing 67.6% more work days than a regular day. Workers said they experienced an average of 40 minutes less sleep that night.
There was no increase in injuries noted after the “fall back” and workers reported getting an average of one hour more sleep that night.
There is a clear indication that the switch to Daylight Saving Time in the spring definitely is a dangerous time for workers.
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