We went through the bad end of the time change this weekend. The shortest nights sleep of the year was Saturday night and I sure felt it after my workout this morning dragging my butt through the afternoon. But, what about your health and the Daylight savings? Does it affect you or not?

It seems that when the clock is moved forward or back one hour, the body’s internal clock — its circadian rhythm, which uses daylight to stay in tune with its environment — does not adjust. In a study of 55,000 people, for example, scientists found that on days off from work, subjects tended to sleep on standard time, not daylight time: their waking hour followed the seasonal progression of dawn.

In other studies, scientists tracked large groups of people for eight weeks at a time as they made the transitions to daylight time in spring and to standard time in autumn. They found that in spring, people’s peak activity levels were more in tune with their body clock than with the actual clock. Studies suggest that this disconnect between body time and clock time can result in restlessness, sleep disruption and shorter sleep duration. Other studies have suggested links between time change and increases in heart attacks, suicides and accidents, though scientists say more study is needed.

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Tags: heart attacks, restlessness

There is a lot of confusion surrounding menopause. The term “menopause” actually refers to the point in time when a woman hasn’t had a menstrual period in 12 consecutive months. However, many women refer to the process that leads up to their last period as “going through menopause.” Medically, that process is called perimenopause.

During perimenopause, a woman’s ovaries gradually reduce the amount of estrogen they produce, which causes menstrual periods to become irregular and, eventually, to stop. Some women have their ovaries removed surgically, creating a condition known as surgical menopause, which eliminates perimenopause and results in an abrupt stop in menstrual periods.

What are the symptoms of menopause?

A few lucky women (about 15%) have no symptoms other than irregular menstrual periods. Most women, though, have at least some symptoms. Generally, the symptoms fade over time and disappear completely once a woman reaches the point of menopause. The most common symptoms include:

• Hot flashes: These sudden changes in body temperature arrive without warning, are often accompanied by heavy sweating, and generally last a few minutes. When they occur during sleep, they are called night sweats, and they can be severe enough to awaken some women and make it impossible for them to get a good night’s rest.

• Vaginal changes: Dryness, itching, and irritation sometimes occur and may interfere with sexual intercourse. Your pharmacist can help you select products to minimize these symptoms.

• Urinary tract problems: Some women become more likely to develop infections or bladder control problems. There are treatments a doctor can prescribe to treat these conditions.

• Other physical changes: Some women experience palpitations, mild dizziness, tingling sensations, fatigue, restlessness, constipation, or aching bones. Others gain weight or find that their breasts become smaller.

• Emotional changes: Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, memory loss, and other emotional symptoms can result from changing hormone levels, lack of sleep (often the result of night sweats), or a variety of other factors.

Some of the changes that take place during peri menopause have a permanent effect on a woman’s health. For example:

• Heart: The loss of estrogen raises the level of LDL (”bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides in a woman’s blood, increasing her risk of developing heart problems.

• Bones: As the level of estrogen in a woman’s body declines, her bones may become weaker and brittle, increasing her risk of developing osteoporosis.

• Sex organs: The wall of the vagina may become thinner and drier, making intercourse painful and increasing the risk of infection, and her breasts may become smaller and sag.

• Skin: Because the skin is likely to become drier and lose its elasticity, it may lose its youthful appearance

Tags: constipation, dizziness, emotional_changes, fatigue, hot_flashes, irregular_menstrual_periods, irritation, itching, last_period, memory loss, menstrual_period, night_sweats, osteoporosis, perimenopause, pharmacist, restlessness, symptoms_of_menopause