Therapists concerned about negative health outcomes following time shift

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA)— Fallback time took effect this week, and Most people gained an hour of sleep. Now, some therapists say they're concerned after seeing a spike in negative mental health impacts.

Stephen Tuttle is a counselor at Thriveworks in Greenville. He told 7NEWS he serves around 30 patients a week on average and is concerned after seeing a rise in cases of seasonal depression and anxiety related to the time shift.

"Losing that hour of daylight means less activity, less getting out and being active, and more staying home, bundling up, which is nice sometimes, but our bodies and our minds need that activity to be in a better place for joy and happiness, and excitement, and the things in life that help us thrive," said Tuttle.

He said people are getting stressed over going to and getting off of work when it's dark.

According to Tuttle, people lose around two hours of daylight with the fall back time shift and it can take a week to re-acclimate. He encourages people to take time off work when they can, and to get outdoors when there is still light out.

"Take your lunches outside. Do lunch outdoors. Take walks. Most jobs are supposed to give us those 15-minute breaks, right, so, if you get those, take it outside, don't stay at your desk," Tuttle added.

Tuttle explained the most important thing people can do is adjust their schedule to ensure they're getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

"We want to work to live, not live to work, so being efficient with your scheduling so that you have as much of that time as you can to be outdoors, open your windows, things of that sort, to help you take advantage of the daylight we do get," Tuttle also said.