November 3, 2025 • 16 mins
How does daylight savings time ending affect your mental health? Mental health expert Julie Hattershire joins Scott to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Everyone needs help every now and then, and she's here
to help us get our heads right. This is Mental
Health Monday with mental health expert Julie had her Shire. Yeah,
I wish we had better news on this day with
we had shootings. We have, of course what happened on
the field with the Bengals, and just a lot of
doom and gloom out there. And that's compounded by the
(00:23):
fact that, yeah, we got an extra hour of sleep
last night, but the dividends will be paid for the
coming days and weeks for some people when it comes
to the fact, the sad fact that like Johnny cash
in fulsome prison, we're not going to see the sun
since I don't know when joining the show is Julie
h from be Connected out Care Jewels. Good morning, Julie,
(00:43):
there stand by. We've got issues here, Julia there, there
we go. I don't know what's going on. Even the
phones don't want to work today, even the phones are depressed.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I was talking, I could hear you. Sorry about that.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Oh no, that's not on you, that's on that's on us.
Maybe because maybe our sleep schedules are screwed up.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I don't know, are screwed up.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
We got all those damn bad news, and then on
top of that, we lose all our sunshine. Now, it
was nice to wake up this morning, but you know
what's coming. That's the sad part. You go, I'm not
going to see the sun in a while here, pretty soon.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, it's really hard on people. It is really hard
on people. Some people take it better than others, and
for some people the fall time change is easier than
the springtime change. But regardless, we know that what happens
in our bodies and in our brains it impacts us.
Whether we cope better with it than other people do
or not, it's it's a big deal, and it happens
(01:37):
twice a year, so we've got to get used to it.
But I don't like it.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, this one's worse, I think because you have hope, right,
does it work that way your body? Like, hey, I
know that the long days are coming. Because we do
this in the spring and we lose in our sleep.
We go, okay, God, it's going to suck right now.
But in a few weeks it means summer's here. There's
some relief. This means that it feels like you're going
to prison almost maybe.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
A little bit extreme, but I think for a lot
of people it's true.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, you know, for some people that is extreme, but
for other people. Fall is a lovely season objectively for
most people. But people who really struggle with winter, fall
is the precursor to that, and it's the beginning of
their really hardest time. There are people who really really
struggle in the dark and the cold of winter. And
(02:24):
now we know it's coming. And you're right, there's less
daylight in our lives, particularly for those people who work
a normal eight to five, nine to five job. You're
inside at work during the daylight hours, you leave in
the dark, you come home in the dark, and it's
really difficult.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Let's talk about the actual measured health impact, is there?
Shevel right, there are.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
There are quite a few, in fact, so cardiovascularly, it
has a huge impact on increased number of heart attacks
and strokes after each time change, consistently up to a
twenty four percent a recent hospital study in Michigan twenty
four percent increase in heart attacks on the Monday following
the switch. That's huge, that's big, that's really really big.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Part attacks because of the time change.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Now I thought, well, I got an extra hour sleep,
I should be good, but that's not true.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, you know, there's what we what we perceive is happening,
and there's what actually is happening in our bodies. So
our bodies run on a circadian clock, and the circadian
clock is timed as animals. Bodies are timed to the
light in the darkness, and when we frequently shift our
(03:35):
body clock, it has negative impacts. So we see this
on shift workers. We see this in people who travel
regularly for work across multiple time zones. We see decreased
health in those people in large part because of the
circadian rhythm differential that they have to shift. They shift
(03:56):
their phases of sleep and wake, also the done Over time,
they can come to adapt to that, but for the
rest of us, who only shift it basically twice a
year or infrequently, it can have really significant negative impacts.
So I'm not a doctor. I can't explain this to
you in greater detail than that, but I can tell
(04:18):
you that there is documented evidence that strokes go up
maybe eight percent in the first couple of days afterward,
and heart attacks go up significantly in the first couple
of days after a time shift.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Okay, so how do you prevent that if your heart's palpitating,
you're beating real fast right now, and you're sweating and
your arms are going numb, we'll call nine to one one.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
But before you get to that, what do you have
to do?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Well? One of the things that we're starting to understand
is helpful is to prepare ourselves for that. So I
don't know if you, before you went to Australia did
what some people who travel long distances across multiple time
zones do, if they start preparing their body for the
time they're going to be in by going to bed later,
(04:59):
or going to bed earlier, by getting up later or
getting up earlier, start shifting a few days beforehand into
their new time zone.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
No, I'm dumb. I would never do that. I'd never
do that. I'm stupid, not at all.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Well, one of the things that we recommend is if
you are someone who you who knows that this time
change really impacts you, and it really impacts me, not
with a heart attack, but just generally I don't feel
as well for the week afterwards. I try to start
shifting my sleep cycle and my weight cycle to be
more like the time that I'm going to be in
(05:34):
versus the time that I'm currently living in. Then it's
an abrupt shift. So gradually changing because we know that
this is coming and we can predict it can be
really helpful.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Well if you can.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
But most people, you know, you still have to work
and then you go, Okay, Then I got to pack
and I got to make sure everything's in. I'm all
excited about traveling, you know, as you're talking about that,
I know some people and there's people listening who are
in the business of traveling a lot. And you're going
to a different country. There's different time zones. P and
G notorious for that.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Does that shape yours off your life?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think there's evidence to indicate it has some pretty
significant medical impacts. Yes, I know does, Oh yes, absolutely
it does. And shifting time zones like that, our bodies
are not designed to do that, and our modern technology
allows it, but our bodies are not actually physically designed
to do that. So it creates stress in our body.
(06:28):
It creates differences in cortisol levels, it creates differences in
our serotonin levels, which is one of the neuroreceptors neurotransmitters
used for mood regulation. And so these differences over long
periods of time can have negative consequences, and I believe
that there are now studies about protocols for how to
(06:50):
help people who have shift work or who travel across
multiple time zones regularly, to help them manage that better.
But it's something that needs to be carefully managed because
our bodies don't adapt to that. Anybody who's traveled internationally
and has jet lag knows that it can take you
twenty four to thirty six hours to sort of get
back in the groove again, and then when you come
(07:11):
back home the same thing can be true.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
She's Julie Hattashare, our licensed mental health expert Monday Morning.
It's always Julie of course talking about mental health Monday
at be Connected dot Care. The time change, Yeah, it's
okay right now because you've got an extra hour sleep,
but you know you still feel the effects of this
too because heart attrack rates are up, motor vehicle accidents.
Your mental health starts to suffer at that you get
because if you can't handle the sleep very well, there's depression.
(07:35):
Seasonal effective disorder is a huge one.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
It is, and that is triggered by the time change
and exacerbated by the increased darkness. So Seasonal affective disorder
is our body's response to not having enough sunlight in
our day, and people feel that in many different ways.
People who live in community these that are not very sunshiny,
(08:03):
like Seattle, often have a low level of seasonal effective
disorder year round. People who live in areas that are
more sunshiny, and then once winter comes they get less
of it. It becomes more acute. So you can have
it sort of consistently or you can have it acutely,
depending upon the seasonal change. But our bodies need sunlight.
(08:24):
It helps with mood regulation, It helps with sleep regulation,
It helps with stress levels, cortisol levels, it helps with adrenaline.
It is important for us to have sunshine in our lives.
And when we go to work in the dark and
come home in the dark and we're not outside during
the day, it's a problem. Those sun lamps really do help.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, I've got a happy Any bright light, yeah, yeah,
Because it has to be when a certain spectrum.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Correct exactly, it has to be within a certain spectrum.
You have to use it ideally at particular times of day,
four particular lengths of time in order to mimic the
impact of sunlight through your eyes, which has a huge
effect on your brain. So it's not just about sitting
under any light. It's about the type of light that
(09:11):
sunlight is coming through your eyes and hitting your brain.
You can get that just also by ten or fifteen
minutes outside with no sunglasses on it. It's not terribly bright.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Yeah, okay, So it's just the sun, the effect of
the sun itself, the vitamin D, the things that brings
with it. You mentioned different times of the day when
you should be exposed. What are you talking what's optimal.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
First thing in the morning, before you start your day,
ideally fifteen to thirty minutes of sunlight, because that triggers
your body into recognizing that it's awake and time to
work now, and your brain starts creating all of those
hormones that you need in order to go through your
day and do a really good job going through your day.
(09:55):
And then sometimes if you have a slump in the
middle of the day, that's another really good time to
get some sunlight through your eyes because that will again
stimulate your brain to produce the hormones that provide energy
and cognition and keep you sharp and focused.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
And then later at night, as you're starting to wind down,
you want to decrease blue lights so screen time, and
increase warm light in your home, and then that makes
the transition to sleep easier and makes your sleep more
RESTful so that you can get up the next day
and do it again.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
All right, So what about that You mentioned the sleep
shifting and getting used to this thing, But how often
should you?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
What about naps?
Speaker 1 (10:34):
I think that's a good one too, because it feels like,
you know, especially when it's gray and dark and we
just want to curl up and heaven.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Why do naps get such a bad rap.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I don't know why naps got such a bad rap,
But I also don't know why sleep got such a
bad rap. I mean, do you remember back in the
days when people used to say, I'll sleep when I'm dead,
and people used to brag about getting by on three
or four hours of sleep at night. And we know
physiologically and mentally and emotionally that we most of us
need seven to nine hours of sleep a night, good
quality sleep. So if you are someone who needs a
(11:04):
nap in the middle of the day, what the recommendation
currently is is that you don't go for more than
about thirty minutes to take a power nap. Anything more
than that, you're getting into a full sleep cycle. And
if you interrupt a full sleep cycle, that leaves you
feeling groggier and more disconnected than before you went in.
And so fifteen to thirty minutes is ideal for most people,
(11:26):
and just one of those a day to kind of
boost your energy and boost your mood can be real.
I don't know why NAP's got a bad rapper.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Have to be what I appear and work ethic, right,
and somehow you're napping your slacker right?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Well, I mean there is that, although I remember there
were a few times in my life when I would
take my lunch hour and go to my car and
nap for thirty minutes and then get back into the
office and work again because I was so tired. You
can't really nap at your desk. I go hang out
in my car and nap and then come back in.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I don't know about the napping cubes. I just the
people I work with. I don't want to lay where
they lay, you know, honestly.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
I do you know what, Wow, I'm lucky I have
a couch in my office. Yeah, I sick flit down
on my couch if I need a nap.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Five ten minutes if you need. I'm not a big naper.
When I do it, hits, it's good, it's good. I
don't mind doing it. If you need to take it,
it makes you more productive. I understand. We don't encourage
it more. Now you could be like some people and
probably have a two hour nap. That's a little much.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Well, that's too much, because then you're you're all the
way through one and into your second sleep cycle. A
complete sleep cycle lasts about ninety minutes, so the first
part of the sleep cycle is the really restorative. That's
why the first thirty minutes is great, that thirty minute nap.
Once you move into the second part of the sleep cycle,
if you awake from that in the middle of it,
it's really hard to get back on track again. That's
(12:39):
when you wake up in your groggy and you actually
maybe feel worse than before you took the nap because
you're in that second part of the sleep cycle. It's
not really helpful. So that's why the thirty minutes is
pretty much ideal.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Which time change is worse the Sprague one or listen,
I think it'd be this one now. Granted we still
get to get an extra hour sleep. You love that one.
Bars are open. If you're younger, that means the bars
are open in front. But for those of us adults,
like to me, it's like, this is worse because we
know what's coming. You know that we're not going to
see the sun. It's going to get dark and gloomy,
and you're going to leave for work, it's going to
(13:12):
be dark. To get home for work, it's going to
be dark. There's no joy in that, there's nothing to
look forward to until we fix it in the spring.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Physiologically, the research indicates that both have similar impact on
our bodies. I think it's the meaning we make of it.
So to your point, the spring, we lose an hour
of sweep, but we know that warmer, brighter, sunnier days
are coming. However, there are people who really like winter,
and so for them, this season that's coming up is
(13:43):
not gloomy and doomy. It is really fun. They like
outdoor sports, they like the colder weather. They really enjoy,
you know, coziness around a fire. So for them winter
is actually a lovely season and they're not disliking it
at all. So physiologically the change is very similar. The
effect is very similar. It's the meaning we make of
it that makes for me and you spring an easier
(14:06):
one to manage than fall.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
I might be a freak, but I enjoy winter. I
like fall a lot. I like winter. I like winter
up until about maybe March. By then it's like, okay,
and now it's just wet and gloomy and just nasty,
can't do Anything's rains all the time. That's depressing. I
like nice white snowfalls, something like that. Get a couple
of feet of snow on the ground, a fire, I'm good.
But then when it's just dooming and blooming, right, we
(14:27):
don't have that. So and then after that, yeah, by February,
February starts to roll around. When pictures and catchers report,
it's like, okay, it needs to be over, and then
we got two mile months of misery.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Is a problem.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Yes, Pictures and catchers report used to be a national
holiday in my household. When my kids were young, that
was their favorite day of the year. Race fall season
was starting.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
It's over.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Yeah, it's over, yeah exactly, and that's when things should
start to get warmer. Now, like you, I like winter.
I like a cold Christmas and a cold New Year,
and then you know, early mid January, I'm kind of done.
I'm ready for start getting warmer again.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Well, did you also notice too that the older, when
as you get older, you want more sunshine.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Why is it?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yes, Well, because it helps regulate our mood, it helps
regulate our energy. Sunshine is really important for all of
the processes in our body, and the older we get,
the more challenging physically things can become, the more we
need every little bit of help we can access, and
sunlight is important. Darkness feels darker the older I get,
(15:29):
I agree with you. And winter feels more wintery and
yucky the older I get. And I think that that
is pretty common. It's harder to stay warm when you're older.
It's harder to navigate in the dark when you're older.
And we need more of the serotone and the dopamine
that sunlight provides us, and we need more of the
cortisol to get us going in through our day that
(15:51):
the sunlight provides us, because as we get older, our
brains produce less of that naturally.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Like cortisol dopamine. I'm here for Julie Hatter's here at
be a Connected dot Care. That's a letter b Connected
dot Care if you want to reach out, maybe a
topic for a future segment or a question for her.
She practices out of Clifton at Beconnected dot Care. And Hey,
Julie is the handle for the email Julie hattersh here
mental health, money and the Scottslan show all the best.
Thanks for jumping on, have a great week.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Thanks you too, Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
We got to get a news update and then when
we return, Austin Elmore's here. So far no worried about
anybody getting fired down at pay Court. Shouldn't someone be
fired for this? We'll name names. Coming up with Austin
is the watches on for a sacrificial lamb down with
the football team after yesterday's historic disasters loss out back
to back historic disasters loss losses. Here in the home
(16:39):
of the best spangles covered Scotsland, putting the dope and
dopamine on seven hundred ww since
Everyone needs help every now and then, and she's here
to help us get our heads right. This is Mental
Health Monday with mental health expert Julie had her Shire. Yeah,
I wish we had better news on this day with
we had shootings. We have, of course what happened on
the field with the Bengals, and just a lot of
doom and gloom out there. And that's compounded by the
(00:23):
fact that, yeah, we got an extra hour of sleep
last night, but the dividends will be paid for the
coming days and weeks for some people when it comes
to the fact, the sad fact that like Johnny cash
in fulsome prison, we're not going to see the sun
since I don't know when joining the show is Julie
h from be Connected out Care Jewels. Good morning, Julie,
(00:43):
there stand by. We've got issues here, Julia there, there
we go. I don't know what's going on. Even the
phones don't want to work today, even the phones are depressed.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I was talking, I could hear you. Sorry about that.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Oh no, that's not on you, that's on that's on us.
Maybe because maybe our sleep schedules are screwed up.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I don't know, are screwed up.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
We got all those damn bad news, and then on
top of that, we lose all our sunshine. Now, it
was nice to wake up this morning, but you know
what's coming. That's the sad part. You go, I'm not
going to see the sun in a while here, pretty soon.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, it's really hard on people. It is really hard
on people. Some people take it better than others, and
for some people the fall time change is easier than
the springtime change. But regardless, we know that what happens
in our bodies and in our brains it impacts us.
Whether we cope better with it than other people do
or not, it's it's a big deal, and it happens
(01:37):
twice a year, so we've got to get used to it.
But I don't like it.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, this one's worse, I think because you have hope, right,
does it work that way your body? Like, hey, I
know that the long days are coming. Because we do
this in the spring and we lose in our sleep.
We go, okay, God, it's going to suck right now.
But in a few weeks it means summer's here. There's
some relief. This means that it feels like you're going
to prison almost maybe.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
A little bit extreme, but I think for a lot
of people it's true.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, you know, for some people that is extreme, but
for other people. Fall is a lovely season objectively for
most people. But people who really struggle with winter, fall
is the precursor to that, and it's the beginning of
their really hardest time. There are people who really really
struggle in the dark and the cold of winter. And
(02:24):
now we know it's coming. And you're right, there's less
daylight in our lives, particularly for those people who work
a normal eight to five, nine to five job. You're
inside at work during the daylight hours, you leave in
the dark, you come home in the dark, and it's
really difficult.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Let's talk about the actual measured health impact, is there?
Shevel right, there are.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
There are quite a few, in fact, so cardiovascularly, it
has a huge impact on increased number of heart attacks
and strokes after each time change, consistently up to a
twenty four percent a recent hospital study in Michigan twenty
four percent increase in heart attacks on the Monday following
the switch. That's huge, that's big, that's really really big.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Part attacks because of the time change.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Now I thought, well, I got an extra hour sleep,
I should be good, but that's not true.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, you know, there's what we what we perceive is happening,
and there's what actually is happening in our bodies. So
our bodies run on a circadian clock, and the circadian
clock is timed as animals. Bodies are timed to the
light in the darkness, and when we frequently shift our
(03:35):
body clock, it has negative impacts. So we see this
on shift workers. We see this in people who travel
regularly for work across multiple time zones. We see decreased
health in those people in large part because of the
circadian rhythm differential that they have to shift. They shift
(03:56):
their phases of sleep and wake, also the done Over time,
they can come to adapt to that, but for the
rest of us, who only shift it basically twice a
year or infrequently, it can have really significant negative impacts.
So I'm not a doctor. I can't explain this to
you in greater detail than that, but I can tell
(04:18):
you that there is documented evidence that strokes go up
maybe eight percent in the first couple of days afterward,
and heart attacks go up significantly in the first couple
of days after a time shift.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Okay, so how do you prevent that if your heart's palpitating,
you're beating real fast right now, and you're sweating and
your arms are going numb, we'll call nine to one one.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
But before you get to that, what do you have
to do?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Well? One of the things that we're starting to understand
is helpful is to prepare ourselves for that. So I
don't know if you, before you went to Australia did
what some people who travel long distances across multiple time
zones do, if they start preparing their body for the
time they're going to be in by going to bed later,
(04:59):
or going to bed earlier, by getting up later or
getting up earlier, start shifting a few days beforehand into
their new time zone.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
No, I'm dumb. I would never do that. I'd never
do that. I'm stupid, not at all.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Well, one of the things that we recommend is if
you are someone who you who knows that this time
change really impacts you, and it really impacts me, not
with a heart attack, but just generally I don't feel
as well for the week afterwards. I try to start
shifting my sleep cycle and my weight cycle to be
more like the time that I'm going to be in
(05:34):
versus the time that I'm currently living in. Then it's
an abrupt shift. So gradually changing because we know that
this is coming and we can predict it can be
really helpful.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Well if you can.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
But most people, you know, you still have to work
and then you go, Okay, Then I got to pack
and I got to make sure everything's in. I'm all
excited about traveling, you know, as you're talking about that,
I know some people and there's people listening who are
in the business of traveling a lot. And you're going
to a different country. There's different time zones. P and
G notorious for that.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Does that shape yours off your life?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think there's evidence to indicate it has some pretty
significant medical impacts. Yes, I know does, Oh yes, absolutely
it does. And shifting time zones like that, our bodies
are not designed to do that, and our modern technology
allows it, but our bodies are not actually physically designed
to do that. So it creates stress in our body.
(06:28):
It creates differences in cortisol levels, it creates differences in
our serotonin levels, which is one of the neuroreceptors neurotransmitters
used for mood regulation. And so these differences over long
periods of time can have negative consequences, and I believe
that there are now studies about protocols for how to
(06:50):
help people who have shift work or who travel across
multiple time zones regularly, to help them manage that better.
But it's something that needs to be carefully managed because
our bodies don't adapt to that. Anybody who's traveled internationally
and has jet lag knows that it can take you
twenty four to thirty six hours to sort of get
back in the groove again, and then when you come
(07:11):
back home the same thing can be true.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
She's Julie Hattashare, our licensed mental health expert Monday Morning.
It's always Julie of course talking about mental health Monday
at be Connected dot Care. The time change, Yeah, it's
okay right now because you've got an extra hour sleep,
but you know you still feel the effects of this
too because heart attrack rates are up, motor vehicle accidents.
Your mental health starts to suffer at that you get
because if you can't handle the sleep very well, there's depression.
(07:35):
Seasonal effective disorder is a huge one.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
It is, and that is triggered by the time change
and exacerbated by the increased darkness. So Seasonal affective disorder
is our body's response to not having enough sunlight in
our day, and people feel that in many different ways.
People who live in community these that are not very sunshiny,
(08:03):
like Seattle, often have a low level of seasonal effective
disorder year round. People who live in areas that are
more sunshiny, and then once winter comes they get less
of it. It becomes more acute. So you can have
it sort of consistently or you can have it acutely,
depending upon the seasonal change. But our bodies need sunlight.
(08:24):
It helps with mood regulation, It helps with sleep regulation,
It helps with stress levels, cortisol levels, it helps with adrenaline.
It is important for us to have sunshine in our lives.
And when we go to work in the dark and
come home in the dark and we're not outside during
the day, it's a problem. Those sun lamps really do help.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, I've got a happy Any bright light, yeah, yeah,
Because it has to be when a certain spectrum.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Correct exactly, it has to be within a certain spectrum.
You have to use it ideally at particular times of day,
four particular lengths of time in order to mimic the
impact of sunlight through your eyes, which has a huge
effect on your brain. So it's not just about sitting
under any light. It's about the type of light that
(09:11):
sunlight is coming through your eyes and hitting your brain.
You can get that just also by ten or fifteen
minutes outside with no sunglasses on it. It's not terribly bright.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Yeah, okay, So it's just the sun, the effect of
the sun itself, the vitamin D, the things that brings
with it. You mentioned different times of the day when
you should be exposed. What are you talking what's optimal.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
First thing in the morning, before you start your day,
ideally fifteen to thirty minutes of sunlight, because that triggers
your body into recognizing that it's awake and time to
work now, and your brain starts creating all of those
hormones that you need in order to go through your
day and do a really good job going through your day.
(09:55):
And then sometimes if you have a slump in the
middle of the day, that's another really good time to
get some sunlight through your eyes because that will again
stimulate your brain to produce the hormones that provide energy
and cognition and keep you sharp and focused.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
And then later at night, as you're starting to wind down,
you want to decrease blue lights so screen time, and
increase warm light in your home, and then that makes
the transition to sleep easier and makes your sleep more
RESTful so that you can get up the next day
and do it again.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
All right, So what about that You mentioned the sleep
shifting and getting used to this thing, But how often
should you?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
What about naps?
Speaker 1 (10:34):
I think that's a good one too, because it feels like,
you know, especially when it's gray and dark and we
just want to curl up and heaven.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Why do naps get such a bad rap.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I don't know why naps got such a bad rap,
But I also don't know why sleep got such a
bad rap. I mean, do you remember back in the
days when people used to say, I'll sleep when I'm dead,
and people used to brag about getting by on three
or four hours of sleep at night. And we know
physiologically and mentally and emotionally that we most of us
need seven to nine hours of sleep a night, good
quality sleep. So if you are someone who needs a
(11:04):
nap in the middle of the day, what the recommendation
currently is is that you don't go for more than
about thirty minutes to take a power nap. Anything more
than that, you're getting into a full sleep cycle. And
if you interrupt a full sleep cycle, that leaves you
feeling groggier and more disconnected than before you went in.
And so fifteen to thirty minutes is ideal for most people,
(11:26):
and just one of those a day to kind of
boost your energy and boost your mood can be real.
I don't know why NAP's got a bad rapper.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Have to be what I appear and work ethic, right,
and somehow you're napping your slacker right?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Well, I mean there is that, although I remember there
were a few times in my life when I would
take my lunch hour and go to my car and
nap for thirty minutes and then get back into the
office and work again because I was so tired. You
can't really nap at your desk. I go hang out
in my car and nap and then come back in.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I don't know about the napping cubes. I just the
people I work with. I don't want to lay where
they lay, you know, honestly.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
I do you know what, Wow, I'm lucky I have
a couch in my office. Yeah, I sick flit down
on my couch if I need a nap.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Five ten minutes if you need. I'm not a big naper.
When I do it, hits, it's good, it's good. I
don't mind doing it. If you need to take it,
it makes you more productive. I understand. We don't encourage
it more. Now you could be like some people and
probably have a two hour nap. That's a little much.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Well, that's too much, because then you're you're all the
way through one and into your second sleep cycle. A
complete sleep cycle lasts about ninety minutes, so the first
part of the sleep cycle is the really restorative. That's
why the first thirty minutes is great, that thirty minute nap.
Once you move into the second part of the sleep cycle,
if you awake from that in the middle of it,
it's really hard to get back on track again. That's
(12:39):
when you wake up in your groggy and you actually
maybe feel worse than before you took the nap because
you're in that second part of the sleep cycle. It's
not really helpful. So that's why the thirty minutes is
pretty much ideal.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Which time change is worse the Sprague one or listen,
I think it'd be this one now. Granted we still
get to get an extra hour sleep. You love that one.
Bars are open. If you're younger, that means the bars
are open in front. But for those of us adults,
like to me, it's like, this is worse because we
know what's coming. You know that we're not going to
see the sun. It's going to get dark and gloomy,
and you're going to leave for work, it's going to
(13:12):
be dark. To get home for work, it's going to
be dark. There's no joy in that, there's nothing to
look forward to until we fix it in the spring.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Physiologically, the research indicates that both have similar impact on
our bodies. I think it's the meaning we make of it.
So to your point, the spring, we lose an hour
of sweep, but we know that warmer, brighter, sunnier days
are coming. However, there are people who really like winter,
and so for them, this season that's coming up is
(13:43):
not gloomy and doomy. It is really fun. They like
outdoor sports, they like the colder weather. They really enjoy,
you know, coziness around a fire. So for them winter
is actually a lovely season and they're not disliking it
at all. So physiologically the change is very similar. The
effect is very similar. It's the meaning we make of
it that makes for me and you spring an easier
(14:06):
one to manage than fall.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
I might be a freak, but I enjoy winter. I
like fall a lot. I like winter. I like winter
up until about maybe March. By then it's like, okay,
and now it's just wet and gloomy and just nasty,
can't do Anything's rains all the time. That's depressing. I
like nice white snowfalls, something like that. Get a couple
of feet of snow on the ground, a fire, I'm good.
But then when it's just dooming and blooming, right, we
(14:27):
don't have that. So and then after that, yeah, by February,
February starts to roll around. When pictures and catchers report,
it's like, okay, it needs to be over, and then
we got two mile months of misery.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Is a problem.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Yes, Pictures and catchers report used to be a national
holiday in my household. When my kids were young, that
was their favorite day of the year. Race fall season
was starting.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
It's over.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Yeah, it's over, yeah exactly, and that's when things should
start to get warmer. Now, like you, I like winter.
I like a cold Christmas and a cold New Year,
and then you know, early mid January, I'm kind of done.
I'm ready for start getting warmer again.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Well, did you also notice too that the older, when
as you get older, you want more sunshine.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Why is it?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yes, Well, because it helps regulate our mood, it helps
regulate our energy. Sunshine is really important for all of
the processes in our body, and the older we get,
the more challenging physically things can become, the more we
need every little bit of help we can access, and
sunlight is important. Darkness feels darker the older I get,
(15:29):
I agree with you. And winter feels more wintery and
yucky the older I get. And I think that that
is pretty common. It's harder to stay warm when you're older.
It's harder to navigate in the dark when you're older.
And we need more of the serotone and the dopamine
that sunlight provides us, and we need more of the
cortisol to get us going in through our day that
(15:51):
the sunlight provides us, because as we get older, our
brains produce less of that naturally.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Like cortisol dopamine. I'm here for Julie Hatter's here at
be a Connected dot Care. That's a letter b Connected
dot Care if you want to reach out, maybe a
topic for a future segment or a question for her.
She practices out of Clifton at Beconnected dot Care. And Hey,
Julie is the handle for the email Julie hattersh here
mental health, money and the Scottslan show all the best.
Thanks for jumping on, have a great week.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Thanks you too, Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
We got to get a news update and then when
we return, Austin Elmore's here. So far no worried about
anybody getting fired down at pay Court. Shouldn't someone be
fired for this? We'll name names. Coming up with Austin
is the watches on for a sacrificial lamb down with
the football team after yesterday's historic disasters loss out back
to back historic disasters loss losses. Here in the home
(16:39):
of the best spangles covered Scotsland, putting the dope and
dopamine on seven hundred ww since
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