Daylight Savings Time May Contribute to Weight Gain

Getting in an extra hour of sleep amid the sweeping-in of autumn is sweet music to the Sandman but doing such may have our weight scales on the upswing. To demonstrate our point, meet Todd who has just awoken from his extended slumber, a gift from Mr. Daylight Savings Time....

Although the clock reads 7 am, only yesterday morning at this time it was 8 am. Nonetheless, time for breakfast before Todd heads off to work who hates retail for obvious reasons.

As Todd tries to pull the cobwebs from his eyes, he can't seem to snap to life. Although he 'stole' an extra hour of sleep, he just can't get with the program.

By 10:30 am he is ravenous because in actuality, it's really 11:30 am - his regularly scheduled lunch time. And when lunch time finally arrives, because he is so hungry he eats far more than he should have.

As Todd heads home for the day, his spirits fade with the lighting. Barely 5:30 pm and the sun isn't far from setting which practically shreds his usual daily walk through the park. And as the sun sets in this autumn hour, the winds grow colder.

The following morning Todd feels like he has been hit with a load of bricks. No matter how hard that he tried to go to sleep last night, it just wouldn't come.

To worsen matters, something appears to be on the fritz with his appetite for he can't seem to become satisfied at meal time. Because his internal clock is in conflict with his external clock, his tummy is confused and feels a bit abandoned. And when Todd finally pauses to refuel with energy, he's filling his tank a mite too full because he is so hungry.

Okay - enough about Todd. Our point is that Daylight Savings Time can really put a kink in our daily diet - as well shred our sleeping pattern. No wonder so many people seek sleeping medications these days - perhaps a good deal due to Daylight Savings Time.

And although the time switch is difficult in the autumn, the spring 'leap forward' in time is something that most everyone dreads. So if you're finding that you're not feeling 'with it' this week, and if your appetite is all out of whack - as well as your sleeping pattern, the following tips might be of help:

• Begin to wind down earlier in the evening to prepare your body for rest.
• Keep a stash of low calorie snacks around for when a snack attack hits. Good choices are the old stand-by's such as raw carrots, celery, wheat crackers and those new 100-calorie snacks.
• With daylight fizzling out and the colder weather in store, it's a good time to begin thinking of indoor activities you can incorporate into your daily routine.
• Keep in mind that whenever we're irritable, we tend to seek comforting avenues to tame the inner savage beast, which too-commonly translates to comfort foods. They are cheap, require little effort & quickly do the job - if only temporary. The downside is that doing is a quick fix which often generates more irritability via weight gain.
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