Putting the clocks forward this weekend could ruin your health

The clocks are going forward – but what is that really doing to our bodies? James Moore investigates

Springing forward – which is what the clocks do this weekend... (Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Putting the clocks forward is a rite of spring. Yes, it means lighter evenings, but also losing an hour’s beauty sleep… oh, and an increased chance of a heart attack or stroke.

According to a team of Italian scientists, writing in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, daylight saving – losing an hour’s sleep and then having to reset all the clocks in the house, eating into even more of your precious Sunday morning – is linked with the incidence of acute myocardial infarction.

There’s more bad news for timepiece-botherers. A Finnish study found an increased likelihood of stroke, particularly in the first two days after the clocks change. Women are also more at risk than men, as were those aged over 65.