Not only is it important to let your body adjust to the time change this March, it is also a great time to check and prepare all your home safety precautions.
The change in time that accompanies daylight saving time on March 11 can often take a toll on some individuals. After springing your clocks forward and losing an hour of sleep this Sunday, one might experience tiredness, sluggishness or an overall lack of energy.
“Losing an hour of sleep does actually have an impact on the body and our internal clocks. It can take some people a couple days to adjust,” said Dr. Aaron Kalinowski, a primary care physician at Wishard’s Linwood Health Center. “The best thing to do is take it easy for a few days, get plenty of sleep and try to stick to a routine.”
While your body adjusts and you take the time to set all of your clocks forward an hour, doctors say it is also a great time to check safety equipment around the house, making sure everything is working properly and up to code. For instance, be sure to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. If you have had your smoke alarm longer than 10 years it should be replaced. You should also replace your carbon monoxide alarm if you have had it longer then five years.
Doctors also recommend that if you do not already have a home disaster kit, take this opportunity to make one. Keep some extra water, food, flashlights and blankets in the kit in case of an emergency. Once the kit has been created, you can use Daylight Savings Time as an opportunity to do a check up on the kit each year to make sure your batteries and bulbs still work.
In addition, doctors say to go through all of your medications. If you have any that have expired, they could be harmful to your health if consumed and should be discarded and replaced.
“Look at it as a chance to reassess and make sure you don’t have old medications lying around. It is easy to forget about something that has been in your medicine cabinet for many months, and the time change offers the chance to clean it out,” Dr. Kalinowski said.
Finally, check around your house and outdoor storage areas for any hazardous materials. Properly discard of anything that is out of date, damaged or that you no longer use. It is also important to keep those materials where children and pets are not able to reach them.
For more information on the services Wishard provides or to find a primary care physician, call Health Connection at 317-655-2255.
