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Adjusting to the changes to and from Daylight Saving Time

Abstract

A GREAT deal of attention has recently been paid to the circadian rhythms that have been found to exist in a number of human physiological and behavioural processes. There are several ways in which such rhythms can be disrupted, and extensive studies have been made of the effects of prolonged isolation1, abnormal working hours2, and flight across several time zones3. The adoption of Daylight Saving Time (DST) is another possible cause of disruption, but seems to have been generally ignored in spite of the large number of people potentially affected. We have found that significant disruptions of behaviour occur during adaptation to the time change.

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References

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  4. Review of British Standard Time (HMSO, London, 1970).

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  6. Aschoff, J., Hoffmann, K., Pohl, H., and Wever, R., Chronobiohgia, 2, 23–78.

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MONK, T., FOLKARD, S. Adjusting to the changes to and from Daylight Saving Time. Nature 261, 688–689 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/261688a0

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