Nov 6, 2007 10:21 pm US/Pacific
Time Change Affects Bodies More Than Most Think
DENVER (CBS) ―
The time change and the early sunsets that come with it may affect a person's body in more ways than most people think. The early nightfall triggers a series of changes in bodies and some of the changes need to be monitored.
Things like blood pressure can creep up on a person even though everything was fine the rest of the year. Those with high blood pressure, or even borderline high blood pressure, need to pay a extra attention to numbers as winter approaches. A new study found blood pressure that's well controlled the rest of the year climbs slowly and quietly in many people who think things are just fine.
It's not only cold weather that's to blame. In the study of almost half a million people, the numbers climbed even in those who live in a warm climate year round. The average rise in blood pressure was eight to 10 points.
Other studies say there's probably something in the body's internal clock that controls hormones and other things. There's a shift in this "clock" as daylight gets shorter and darkness gets longer.
It's not just blood pressure that changes with the season:
- Cholesterol will rise a few points even for those who eat the same things they were eating in the middle of summer.
- People require more sleep -- up to a half hour more each night.
- Some will crave more carbohydrates and store those carbs as fat.
- Moods tend to sink in severe cases as less sunlight causes the so-called seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
There is one positive. Men become more fertile as testosterone levels and sperm counts go up because nature wants babies to be born nine months later, in the warmer months, not in the cold of winter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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