NEW YORK – Turning clock back on Sunday may have a good impact on heart health. Swedish researchers analyzed records of past 20 years and came to know that, the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks were set back an hour, probably because people have one hour additional sleep.

But moving clocks forward in the spring showed adverse effect. There was a raise in heart attacks number, during the week after the start of daylight saving time, particularly within first three days of the week.

“Sleep — through a variety of mechanisms — affects our cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, who was not involved in the research. The findings show that “sleep not only impacts how we feel, but it may also affect whether we develop heart disease or not.”

They took advantage of Sweden’s comprehensive record of heart attacks to see if the sleep disorders and the body’s internal clock caused by a time change had any effect on heart attacks from 1987 to 2006. Overall, a week after “spring forward,” there was a 5 percent increase in heart attacks, with a 6 percent knock on Monday and Wednesday and a 10 percent increase on Tuesday.

“The finding that the possibility of additional sleep seems to be protective on the first workday after the autumn shift is intriguing,” the researchers said.

Sleep can affect the heart via changes in blood pressure, inflammation, blood clotting, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood vessels, Mosca said. She suggested that anxiety and depression from changes could also be a factor, in addition to sleep shortness.

In experts view, this is a “sleep-deprived society,” and they advise taking advantage of Sunday’s time change and getting an extra hour of sleep.

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