Sleep expert gives Britons advice as Daylight Saving Hours change brings 'serious' risks

Sleep expert gives Britons advice as Daylight Saving Hours change brings 'serious' risks
GB News viewers receive sleep advice ahead of clock change
GB NEWS
Jack Walters

By Jack Walters


Published: 26/10/2024

- 21:07

Dr Lindsay Browning discusses the risks associated with the clocks changing, including increased traffic accidents and heart attacks

A sleep expert has given Britons some much-needed advice on how to adapt to Daylight Saving Hours coming to a close as the clocks going back brings some "serious risks".

The clocks will soon turn back yet again as the UK leaves Daylight Saving Time ahead of the winter.


Ending Daylight Saving Hours, which came in on March 26, will bring some much needed morning sunlight to the UK.

Despite giving Britons an extra hour in bed, the clocks going back also brings some profound problems.

Dr Lindsay Browning discusses the risks associated with the clocks changing, including increased traffic accidents and heart attacks

Dr Lindsay Browning discusses the risks associated with the clocks changing, including increased traffic accidents and heart attacks

GB NEWS/GETTY

Speaking to GB News, sleep expert Dr Lindsay Bronwing said: "So our body, we have our own internal clock, called our circadian rhythm, and it regulates all sorts of things, not just sleep, but it regulates when we feel hungry, when we produce certain types of hormones, when we feel really uttermost alert.

"And that is irrespective of what the time actually is. Our body itself has its own clock, so if you change your time zone radically, your body is still in the original time zone.

"Now when the clocks changed, you know, tonight, tomorrow morning we have a one hour time shift.

"It's like a one hour time zone change, which means that our body tomorrow will still think we're on the same time as we are today, meaning that tomorrow we might find ourselves feeling much more tired earlier than our normal bedtime.

"But of course, then it's only one hour and we can adapt to a one hour time change. It'll take us a day, two days at the most really to to be able to adapt to such things.

"So we shouldn't worry too much about it and make the most of that extra hour sleep, which is going to be really valuable, especially if we haven't been getting enough sleep up until now."

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Responding to Browning, GB News' Stephen Dixon said: "I saw a report yesterday saying that within 48 hours of a time change like this, there are more people have car accidents, more people have heart attacks and strokes.

"And I mean actually really serious stuff. We sort of laugh and joke about the clocks going forward and back, but for some people it really is serious."

Browning added: "If we, especially in the spring change, that's when we lose that our there is an increased risk of car accidents because often people just aren't getting that extra hours sleep.

"But yes, our timing change, even if we go to bed tomorrow at the right time, that the world says is the right time, our body doesn't realise that's actually the time we should be going to sleep.

"So our hormones are just out of balance and we won't be producing melatonin at the right time.

"We might find it that we're waking up at the wrong time the next morning, and that can result in a lack of sleep, which then if we don't get enough sleep, we're at a higher risk of heart attacks, road traffic accidents, that kind of thing.

"And as well, it's the fact that we're going to lose the hours light in the evening, and that's going to have a big impact to our mental health and our circadian rhythm as well.

Workers clean the face of Big BenWorkers clean the face of Big BenGETTY

The clocks will go back by one hour at 2am on Sunday, October 27.

Tomorrow's switch will see the UK jump from British Summer Time, also known as Daylight Saving Time, to Greenwich Mean Time.

Smartphones and other devices will change automatically in the early hours of the morning.

The Palace of Westminster Clockmakers will also complete their intricate operation to alter the Great Clock of Westminster inside Big Ben.

However, Britons will need to adjust clocks and watches to make sure they do not get their timings wrong going forward.

Britons have also been warned that they might have to work an extra hour without getting paid if they are working overnight.

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