Is it possible to catch up on sleep?

MINNEAPOLIS — You may feel a bit more alert this week than you normally do thanks to daylight saving time. Just like the leaves, the clock falls back and some people fall off balance, according to Dr. Marcel Hungs, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at HealthPartners.

"There's a lot of research that this daylight saving has not been a big health benefit for anyone," he said. Arizona and Hawaii don't observe it and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says no one should. They made an official statement saying that "year-round standard time would best align with circadian biology and benefit public health.



" Hungs says there is some benefit to an extra hour of sleep. "It helps in the short term, especially if you are chronically sleep-deprived already. The majority of people, they just kinda enjoy that extra hour of sleep and it's just kind of fleeting," he said.

"Technically, you can catch up with short-term sleep deprivation, but in the long term, you have to really look at your sleep and have protected sleep time so that you don't get chronically sleep-deprived." As for naps, Hungs says that's complicated. "You might want to catch up for one hour since you had a really long week, that may be good to recharge your batteries but in the long run, if you have a chronic sleep disorder, then napping is very counterproductive," he said.

Hungs recommends buying a blue light and turning it on every morning after you wake up for 20 minutes. He says to turn as many lights as possible off in your home an hour before you go to bed. Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield loves sharing the good news.

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