{"id":8331,"date":"2016-11-05T13:15:33","date_gmt":"2016-11-05T17:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/?p=8331"},"modified":"2016-10-26T14:34:58","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T18:34:58","slug":"daylight-savings-november-6th-how-it-can-affect-your-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/2016\/11\/daylight-savings-november-6th-how-it-can-affect-your-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Daylight Savings November 6th – How it Can Affect Your Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bigstock-148810253\"Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina<\/a> encourages members to practice preventive health care, but did you know that daylight savings can have adverse health affects, especially when it comes to sleep patterns?\u00a0Daylight Savings ends on Sunday, November 6th at midnight and people all over North Carolina will be setting clocks back by one hour, moving an hour of daylight from\u00a0evening to the morning.\u00a0 Although this may make\u00a0getting out of bed\u00a0this winter a little easier, daylight savings can affect us in ways that may surprise you.\u00a0 According to WebMD, “moving our clocks in either direction changes the principal time cue – light – for setting and resetting our 24-hour natural cycle or circadian rhythm.”\u00a0 This, in turn, knocks our internal clock “out of sync” and forces us to readjust.<\/p>\n

Most experts agree that “falling back” in the autumn is an easier transition than “springing forward” in the spring, but either way, it forces a change in the body’s rhythm.\u00a0 In fact, researchers have looked at a number of health trends that seem to surround daylight savings, including an increase in traffic accidents.\u00a0 Although still unclear how adjusting the clock directly correlates with this increase, some experts argue that it’s based primarily on a change of sleep patterns.<\/p>\n

A lack of sufficient sleep is a logical explanation for increased traffic accidents and\u00a0the National Highway Safety Administration<\/a> issued a warning, asserting that “adjusting to the new, low-light environment can take time.”\u00a0 With nightfall occurring a full hour earlier, drivers need to be even more alert and aware of how the changes in light affect motor vehicle safety.\u00a0 Drivers also need to be aware that it will be more difficult to see pedestrians and need to be on high alert when driving through neighborhoods where foot traffic is still likely in the early to late evening.<\/p>\n

The good news this fall is that it appears the spring time shift is riskier than the autumn one; however, undoubtedly having to reset your internal clock will take its toll.\u00a0 Make sure to get enough sleep, pay attention on the road and be aware of any changes in sleep patterns that could effect optimal performance.<\/p>\n

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina<\/a> is committed to the health and well-being of North Carolinians!\u00a0 For more information on North Carolina insurance coverage, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com <\/a>or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina encourages members to practice preventive health care, but did you know that daylight savings can have adverse health affects, especially when it comes to sleep patterns?\u00a0Daylight Savings ends on Sunday, November 6th at midnight and people all over North Carolina will be setting clocks back by one hour, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,913],"tags":[415,964,965],"class_list":["post-8331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bcbsnc-insurance","category-health-and-safety","tag-blue-cross-blue-shield-nc","tag-daylight-savings","tag-health-risks-daylight-savings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8331"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8349,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331\/revisions\/8349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nchealthplans.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}