(Julia Landwher/ Health) — This past Sunday, Americans experienced the first late-afternoon sunset of the season, after the clocks switched from daylight saving time back to standard time.
Beyond the earlier sunset, the clock change also signals wintertime’s shorter days.
Online, people are already bracing for limited daylight by sharing tips on how to beat the “winter blues,” a general term for feeling more down when it’s darker and colder outside.1
Both the transition between daylight saving and standard time and the short days in the winter can affect people’s health, experts say.
From issues with circadian rhythm to more serious mental health issues such as seasonal affective disorder, early sunsets are often associated with undesirable health consequences.
“It can take about a week for you to adjust to this,” Aarti Grover, MD, medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Tufts Medical Center, told Health. (…)