Remember to 'spring forward' at 2 a.m.
PORTLAND, Ore. – At 2 a.m., it's time to put the clocks forward to 3 a.m. for Daylight Saving Time.
It doesn't affect all time zones, for example Hawaii is not included. But it does include most, including all of the Pacific Northwest.
For those "springing forward" Sunday, the change means more than just resetting the clocks. It also means resetting your body clock.
Experts say that even an hour loss of sleep can affect performance and brain function in a negative way, said Pediatric Neurologist and Sleep Specialist Joshua Rotenberg. He said that losing that hour can actually affect children and adults for days.
"The problem is your alarm clock is going to go off earlier than your brain clock expects it to," Rotenberg said, "so everyone's sleep is contracted for a few days."
And expect kids to be a little grouchy next week, he said.
"So if there are behavior problems next week, every parents should look at that and the sleep schedule for their children," Rotenberg said.
No one wants to go to bed while the sun's still up, so Rotenberg suggests limiting the light by bringing children inside earlier, turning off the computers by 8 p.m., and keeping kids - and yourself - on the same schedule when you would normally fall to sleep and wake up.
If you're still having a hard time going to sleep next week, he said it's OK to take melatonin an hour before bedtime for a few days.
The concept of daylight saving time began in World War I, as an effort to conserve fossil fuels, starting with Germany. In 1918 it was adopted in the U.S. under the name "An Act to Preserve Daylight and Provide Standard Time for the United States."
In 1974, the official "Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act" took effect after being signed into law by U.S. President Nixon. On Jan. 6, 1974, all clocks were officially ordered to be set ahead.
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