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Groggy Morning? Millions of Americans Struggle with Daylight Saving Time Change

As the clocks spring forward, experts share tips on how to adjust and minimize health risks, including the benefits of a 20-minute power nap.
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We are all feeling the loss of that hour and doctors constantly remind us of how important sleep is to our health. But the lack of sleep can cause serious health issues.

The idea of time change dates to a 1784 essay by Ben Franklin. And it resurfaced during World War I and II. We're told it was a way to conserve energy. Then it officially became federal law in 1966.

But research has linked the time change to a rise in heart attacks, strokes, anxiety, depression, and even car crashes.

All those things are connected with the disruption to your body's internal clock. If you're having a hard time adjusting, consider taking a quick 20-minute power nap.

Did you know, animals like cows can be affected by Daylight Saving Time?

"You need to be somewhere quiet and private, someplace that somebody's not going to bother you. So if you have an office and you can lock it, you could do that. Or you could go out to your car where honestly you could get more sun that way as well. You set an alarm for about 20 to about 23 minutes, give yourself a little bit of time to kind of go into that space of rest and relaxation," says Jessica Ridgley, an internal medicine doctor.

Doctor Ridgley also adds that those 20-minute power naps can increase your attention for the rest of the day better than caffeine.

Coming up in the next half hour, I'll have more advice from another doctor and share a few ways to help your body adjust to the time change.

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