Time change may lower heart risk

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Swedish study suggests changing the clocks back before going to bed Saturday night may lower the risk of heart attack in some people.

The report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said heart attacks in Sweden increase 6 percent the day after clocks are moved forward to daylight saving time. Changing clocks back an hour in the fall resulted in 5 percent fewer heart attacks the following day, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Waking up earlier appears to have an adverse cardiovascular effect in some people, the researchers said.

"It has been postulated that people in Western societies are chronically sleep deprived, since the average sleep duration decreased from 9.0 (hours) to 7.5 hours during the 20th century," Drs. Imre Janszky and Rickard Ljung said. "Our data suggest that vulnerable people might benefit from avoiding sudden changes in their biologic rhythms."