Health and Healthcare Systems

Is ‘springing forward’ bad for your health?

It can be tough on our bodies when we spring forward to daylight saving time.

It can be tough on our bodies when we spring forward to daylight saving time. Image: Unsplash/Gregory Pappas

Amy Quinton
  • Do you struggle to function when the clocks go forward?
  • Then you are not alone, says a sleep expert, as some of us simply find it harder than others.
  • In the following podcast episode she explains why this might be the case and offers tips on how to adjust.

It can be tough on our bodies when we spring forward to daylight saving time. A sleep expert offers strategies to help you adjust.

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who love daylight saving time, and those who don’t.

University of California, Davis Health sleep medicine expert Heinrich Gompf is not a big fan of the clock change—or at least not the way we currently do it in the United States.

In this episode of the podcast Unfold, he explains why it’s so darn difficult for our bodies to adjust to the time change (the suprachiasmatic nucleus!) and offers tips to help you prepare and adapt when we do spring forward:

Loading...

You can find the transcript for this podcast here.

Source: UC Davis

Have you read?
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Global Health

Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Global Health is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

Why strengthening diagnostic capacity is key to achieving gender and health equity

Sofiat Makanjuola-Akinola and Paula Bellostas Muguerza

March 10, 2025

International Women’s Day 2025: leading experts on maximizing women’s health and rights

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2025 World Economic Forum