An Extra Hour Saves Lives

Take a glance at your watch. Did you remember to put the clocks back last night? If not, you are more at risk from a heart attack than those who did. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, there is a 5 percent drop in heart attack deaths and hospitalizations the day after clocks are reset each year to standard time. Meanwhile, Swedish researchers have found there to be an uptick in heart attacks in the spring, when clocks go forward an hour. It is all to do with sleep. If you miss even an hour, the body responds by boosting blood pressure and heart rate and the tendency to form dangerous clots is increased. Which means slugabeds could live longer than those who burn the candle at both ends.