Move Back To Standard Time Leads To Next Day Fatigue

By Dr. Brian McDonough

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Our clocks were set back one hour Sunday as we moved from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time. It really isn't that complicated. It's just an hour, but the change in time is always worse the day after.

Why? It's because many of us got an extra hour of sleep and we may have stayed up too long Sunday night.

The result is we feel fatigued. We may feel it at work, or during normal activities, or we could feel it when we're driving.

Studies have shown that change is often linked to a spike in fatigue-related crashes on local roads. Now, researchers have shown a subtle change in our routine does have an impact, but there is good news. The time difference was only an hour. It can be made up by going to bed an hour earlier the following night. You can even make it up slowly during the week.

Remember, we actually gained an hour. It was going to bed later that led to the problems. The problem is that it is a change -- and subtle changes in our daily routine can make big differences.

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