Does Daylight Savings Time Upset Your Bipolar Balance?

[David Baxter PhD]

Does Daylight Savings Time Upset Your Bipolar Balance?
By Joe Kraynak
March 17, 2010

My wife, who happens to have bipolar disorder, hates daylight savings time. Whether we?re springing forward, as we did this past Sunday, or falling back, it usually upsets her circadian rhythm just enough to trigger a chain reaction toward mania. Simply put, it throws her sleep pattern out of whack.

While she?s waiting for her circadian clock to reset, she usually ups her dose of melatonin and uses other sleep aids to ?knock herself out.? She does a pretty good job of getting herself back on track, but it usually takes a week or two.

Does setting your clock ahead or back upset your bipolar balance? If so, what do you do, if anything, to deal with it?

 

[Banned]

This is a good question, and something for me to notice and observe, being "new" to the world of bipolar.

Is this a common occurence, Dr. Baxter? Is this something that someone with bipolar should specifically watch for?

I don't think this year's "data" would tell me much, given I'm also in the midst of a med change that is being really hard on me, but, apart from being quite sick yesterday, I was in a rockin' good mood Sunday and Monday. So maybe? Or coincidence?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I don't know, to be honest. I'd never really thought about it until I saw this article. Disrupted sleep patterns are not unusual in bipolar disorder, of course, but I haven't paid much attention to the impact of DST before. It doesn't surprise me. Changes to and from DST have an impact on many people so it makes sense that individuals with Bipolar Disorder would be particularly affected.

 

[Banned]

It's an interesting concept. I know some people who fly across one time zone (one hour time difference) and are knocked out. I seem to be able to fly pretty much anywhere and be ok from the jet lag perspective. Maybe it's an individual thing and whether or not this person has bipolar is irrelevant; she would still be influenced by DST?

Hmmm...interesting.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I seem to be able to fly pretty much anywhere and be ok from the jet lag perspective.

But your sleep patterns are dodgy at the best of times. Maybe you just don't notice because you're accustomed to feeling tired and dragged out.

 

[Banned]

That's a good point.

I never thought of DST being a big deal... I mean, it's just an hour. But even some of my clients have commented on how it's completely thrown them off this week.

Very interesting how different people respond.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Bipolar Disorder, Daylight Savings, and You
Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.
Mar 19th 2010

So, here we are once again. We've set our clocks forward and it's darker in the mornings and lighter into the evenings? For some who suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) this is a welcome breath of fresh air, while for others who may suffer from bipolar disorder, it can be mean a disastrous tilt toward mania.

While there is an overfocus at times on the "disorders" that breeds stigmatization, it is a reality that people who struggle with bipolar disorder often experience real difficulty when it comes to daylight savings. When the circadian rhythm gets thrown out of whack we might begin to see difficulty sleeping, waking up, and even confusion around hunger. When you have bipolar disorder, a regular structure of sleep, exercise and diet is critical to help regulate balance.

Some people choose to take supplements of melatonin or stronger medications to get to sleep earlier to keep on track, while others simply try to push back each night by 15 minutes while practicing relaxing an hour before sleep (e.g., herbal tea, reading, bath).

At this point nobody truly knows the physiological reason why altering the circadian rhythm can have such dramatic effects on people, especially those with bipolar disorder.