Daylight Savings and Mental Health

Daylight Savings Time (DST) came about as a way to conserve energy and use of artificial light. Since it came into existence, it has impacted the way we structure our time and our daily lives over the course of the year. These yearly schedule changes impact us in many ways, including our sleep cycles on a fundamental level.

As the time changes with the seasons, our internal clock is required to adjust as our sleep routines shift as well. This impact on our sleep and daily routine can trickle into our mental well-being. This year, the change will occur on Sunday, November 2, 2025.

Background on Daylight Savings

DST as a concept first shows up historically in an essay Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1784. The US implemented DST (along with other countries involved in the war) during WWI in 1918 to decrease the amount of artificial light needed. DST was not consistently observed in the US until 1966 when the Uniform Time Act was passed.

How does DST Work?

The mechanics of “spring forward” and “fall back” are that in the US we move the clocks forward an hour in the Spring season on the second Sunday of March and move the clocks back an hour, ending DST, in the Fall season on the first Sunday of November. This has been the timing of DST since 2007 as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

In recent years, it has been debated whether or not DST should continue to be observed. Proponents of DST say it allows us to utilize the longer hours of daylight in the Spring and Summer seasons including more time to be active during daylight hours. People in favor of ending DST say it is bad for our long-term health to change our sleep even by 1 hour twice a year, and that the change decreases productivity in the weeks after the change.

How DST Impacts the Body

Your circadian rhythm is your body’s way of running your internal clock every 24 hours. It’s a complex cascade of external stimuli, hormones, and neural processes that are affected mostly by input of natural light, but also by things like stress, some medications, food, physical activity, and some mental health conditions. When your circadian rhythm is disrupted whether that be by change in sleep and light input schedule due to DST or one of the other reasons listed above, it interrupts your natural internal clock and can have a sleep and physical and mental health impacts.

One of the reasons we are so affected by the change in the amount of light we get per day is specifically related to the role of melatonin. Melatonin is suppressed by your brain during daylight hours, and is produced in the evening to make you sleepy. When our circadian rhythms change, it can affect how and when our body produces melatonin, making us sleepier at incorrect times and affecting the entirety of the sleep process, which can have adverse effects on our physical and mental health. Immediate effects of this disruption in circadian rhythm can include fatigue, mood drops, increased irritability, and concentration decline.

What Are the Mental Health Implications?

Daylight Saving Time can do more than alter sleep schedules, it can disrupt mood, energy, and focus as our bodies adjust to changes in light and daily rhythm. Understanding these effects helps reduce the mental strain that often accompanies the time shift.

• Short-term effects after the time change may include irritability, anxiety, stress, trouble focusing, and increased fatigue.
• Long-term risks may include seasonal affective disorder (SAD), increased depression rates, difficulty regulating emotions, and sleep disorders.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is in the DSM as Major Depressive Disorder with a seasonal pattern. Effective treatments include types of therapy that are known for treating depression such as CBT, ACT, DBT, or Narrative therapy. In addition, light therapy can be used to treat SAD by being exposed to additional artificial light in the morning to help improve emotional regulation and depressive symptoms.
• Melatonin (a sleep hormone), serotonin (a mood hormone), and cortisol (a stress hormone) can all interact and affect sleep, mood, and mental health. Sticking to good sleep hygiene, movement, healthy eating, and regular exposure to daylight can help keep these hormones balanced and working as they should.
• DST can affect mental health by impacting the amount of light we intake, our sleep, our hormones, and our daily internal clock as it impacts our routines. This can lead to sleep deprivation, mental health concerns, physical health concerns, trouble focusing, poorer reaction times, and decreased engagement in work or school.

Who is Most Likely to Feel the Effects of DST?

Daylight savings time can affect everyone differently, but those most likely to feel the negative effects would include

• People with existing mental health conditions.
• Children, teens, and elderly adults.
• Workers with demanding or irregular schedules (e.g., shift workers, healthcare professionals).

How to Deal With the Effects of DST?

Thankfully there are a lot of things you can do to help prepare for the time switch:

• To help combat the effects of DST, you can prepare your sleep schedule before the clock changes by 15 or 20 minutes for the few nights leading up to the time change.
• Maximizing your exposure to natural light in the mornings especially can help mitigate the effects on your circadian rhythm.
• Continuing to practice good sleep hygiene, such as keeping a consistent bedtime, reducing screen time, using your bed only for sleep, not eating too close to bedtime, and creating wind-down routines before sleep can all help decrease sleep deprivation.
• Making sure to incorporate stress management and mindfulness techniques into your day can also help keep up your mind and body’s wellbeing during DST.
• Join one of our yoga classes at our Wellness Studio to practice stress management and mindfulness with us.

You may want to reach out to a professional if you are experiencing continued sleep disruptions, persistent low mood or feelings of anxiety, trouble focusing, or difficulty regulating your emotions. Reaching out to a counselor like Health in Mind, or to groups for SAD, or to crisis hotlines like 988 can help and are there as tools when you need them.

Staying Positive During DST Changes

DST and the time change can impact our mental and physical health. Understanding how your mental health can be affected, and what steps you can take to mitigate the effects of DST can help you feel more prepared when the time change comes around twice a year. It’s important to take precautionary steps to protect your mental and physical well-being especially during this time. Remember, your mental health is worth it.

FAQ

What happens when circadian rhythms are disrupted? – When circadian rhythms are disrupted, it affects your sleep, your hormones, your mental health, and your mood. This trickle down effect into multiple areas of your wellbeing can be challenging especially during the twice yearly time change. Take the time to use our suggestions in this article to help prepare yourself for the time change and keep your mind and body on track.