Time change: what does our body say? - In the news

2023-10-27 14:04:15

October 27, 2023

The transition to winter time is not without impact on our sleep, and on our body in general. Let’s do a check in.

On the night of Saturday October 28 to Sunday October 30, we will change time. We will gain an hour of sleep. When it’s 3 a.m. on your watch face, it will actually be 2 o’clock (unless automatically changed!).

During the day, this will result in 1 hour less exposure to natural light. And it is your biological clock, the same one that regulates the harmony of our physiological needs according to exposure to light and darkness, which is disrupted.

How does our body make us feel this slight return in time? According to the Univers Pharmacie website, here are the main repercussions:

« Sleep: risk of drowsiness, difficulty falling asleep, insomnia» ;
« Attention: significant impact on concentration, influence on one’s ability to work and drive» ;
« Appetite: shifted eating habits, decrease or increase in appetite» ;
« Emotional well-being: mood disorders such as stress and nervousness, depression, mood decline» ;
« Hormones: disruption of the production of melatonin (sleep hormone).

But these inconveniences seem more marked during the transition to summer time, when we lose an hour of sleep. In any case, the problems are likely to become more serious in people whose sleep is already disturbed.

And the rhythm of little ones?

Are babies affected by the time change? In children under 6 months of age, the alternation of waking and sleeping phases is not yet completely aligned with a day/night rhythm. Therefore, the time change should not affect them. After 6 months, if you fear a possible disturbance in sleep and appetite rhythms, you can definitely delay the whole routine. a quarter of an hour per day for 4 days (meal time, bath time, changing time, bedtime), and that’s it », explains Professor Arnault Pfersdorff on his site Pédiatre-online.fr.

An app to better manage your sleep

The time change can also be an opportunity to take stock of your sleep. How many hours do you sleep per week? Does your bedtime-wake-up schedule meet your needs? “ Measuring your weekly sleep amount can be useful », attests Professor Pierre Philip, head of the sleep medicine department at Bordeaux University Hospital.

To find out, you can download the Kanopée application. Developed by the University of Bordeaux and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), it makes it possible to identify a possible sleep debt and therefore a probable risk of daytime sleepiness. In addition to helping you decipher your sleep, Kanopée offers individualized advice. An application to download on IOS and Android which may concern many of us. According to Public Health France, 13.1% of us suffer from chronic insomnia. Total sleep time is approximately 6 hours 42 minutes on weekdays and 7 hours 26 hours on weekends or holidays. Finally, 27.7% of French people have sleep debt, including 18.8% who have debt classified as severe.

Source : Public Health France – Pediatricre-online.fr – Univers Pharmacie – Professor Pierre Philip, head of the sleep medicine department at Bordeaux University Hospital
Written by : Laura Bourgault – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet