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Who would have thought that something as simple and harmless as daylight savings could actually spell trouble… in the form of a heart attack!

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine investigated the incidence of heart attacks before and after the one hour daylight saving adjustment. And their findings were shocking.

Before we identify the connection, it is important to know about circadian rhythms. These are biological cycles or rhythms that are controlled by an organ called hypothalamus in the brain. The rhythms are perfectly synchronized with the 24 hour day period with the help of sunlight and other environmental cues.

The interesting aspect is that it is this circadian rhythm that controls different activities in the body including hormone levels, sleep/wake cycles, behavior, feeding, thermoregulation and also cardiovascular activity. So, now we know that any changes in the circadian rhythm can have an impact on the heart.

In fact, the risk of heart attack is highest in the morning, that is, it is 40 percent more likely to occur in the early morning than at any other time!

The reason for this shocking difference arises from the fact that our cardiovascular system is in the most compromised state in the early hours of morning.

The systolic blood pressure and heart rate is usually highest and the blood vessels find it difficult to dilate quickly enough for the blood flow. This increases the chances of blood clots forming.

The system of daylight savings is predominantly followed in North America and Europe during the fall and spring season. Circadian rhythms take time to adjust to the new time. For a few mornings, one hour of sleep lost means that the cardiovascular system is more compromised in the early morning than before.

A study conducted in 2009 has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers investigated the incidence of heart attacks before and after the one hour daylight saving adjustment. They found out that individuals were at a 5 percent higher risk of developing a heart attack after the clock adjustment in spring.

The best solution is to take the daylight saving easy. Those who are at a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease can change the clocks more gradually, starting with 15 minutes and then bringing it up to one hour until the body has time to adjust.

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Or if high cholesterol is your concern, follow these simple steps to bring your cholesterol down in 30 days or less…