“The first week of DST is not the only time to think about sleep loss,” says Dr. Ronald Chervin, director of the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center and a professor of neurology at U-M.

Even though one hour of lost sleep can make it harder to wake up and to stay alert, many people get less than the recommended 8 to 8.5 hours of sleep each night—an often hard-to-break pattern that sometimes gets its start during childhood.

“We generally spend one-third of life sleeping—or at least we should,” Dr. Chervin explains. “And we’re learning more and more about how that one-third has critical impact on the other two-thirds.”

It’s hard to find any area of health untouched by the amount (and quality) of sleep that we get. Here are some of the health problems that researchers link to chronic insomnia and sleep disorders such as sleep apnea:

• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Emotional instability
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Colds and flu
• Weight gain
• Type 2 diabetes
• Dying early

Dr. Chervin and his team at the UM Center for Sleep Science http://www.med.umich.edu/umsleepscience/ are researching the best ways to get the right amount of rest. Current clinical projects focus on aspects of sleep in newborns, pregnant moms, and Parkinson’s patients. They are also testing a new telephone-based therapy for chronic insomnia.

Feeling Sleepy? You’re Not Alone The Saturday Evening Post

Blizzards, floods, blackouts—even flu epidemics—may leave you and your family unable to go out or without access to food, water, or electricity for a few days.

“We already use daylight-saving time as an opportunity to focus on preparedness by checking batteries in smoke alarms, so it’s a great time to ensure that we have supplies to fall back on in the event of an emergency,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of American Public Health Association (APHA). “Use the extra hour to create a new emergency kit or check your current stockpile for any perishable items that may have expired or canned goods that you may have used.”

Being prepared calls for advance planning. Before disaster strikes close to home, follow the APHA “Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks” campaign recommendations listed below. Click here for downloadable fact sheets and checklists.

1. Check your stockpile of food, water, and batteries to make sure everything is still good. If you don’t have a stockpile, take some time to assemble at least a three-day supply of food, with one or more gallon of water per person per day. Flashlights, a manual can opener, a radio, medical and personal supplies, and copies of key documents are also recommended. You don’t need to purchase everything at once. Pick up one or two items every time you go to the store, stock up on “sale” items or split a case of bulk supplies with a friend.

2. If health officials advise you to “shelter in place” because of a flu outbreak, an emergency stockpile of water and foods may be needed for one week or longer.

3. Familiarize yourself and your family with your community’s emergency preparedness plan, including evacuation routes, emergency shelters, and the location of food banks.

4. Develop or update your family communication plan, which spells out how you will get in touch with one another during an emergency.

Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks The Saturday Evening Post

It’s an ongoing debate. What are the benefits of daylight-saving time? And who gets them? While some benefit from the time change, others are inconvenienced by moving an hour of sunlight from the morning to the afternoon. Yet many Americans appreciate how the longer evenings in summer enable them to accomplish more during the day.

For years, conventional wisdom held that daylight-saving time saves energy, but perhaps not as much as originally thought, according to some analysts. And does the time change actually increase the risks of accidents and disease, as others report?

Where do you stand on the issue?

Share your opinion with Post readers here.

Should We Lose Daylight-Saving Time? The Saturday Evening Post

• Take a brief nap on Saturday, but not too close to bedtime.
• Gradually adjust your sleep and wake schedules by going to bed and getting up 15 minutes earlier for the preceding four days. On arising, turn on the lights or open the curtains. Restrict exposure to light in the evening.
• Talk to your doctor about a short trial of melatonin pills. Taking the supplements for a few days before and after the time change may help adjust the body’s internal clock.

March 8: Spring Forward The Saturday Evening Post

Turn That Darn Thing Off The Saturday Evening Post