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Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: The effect of daylight saving

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Abstract

Large disruptions of chronobiological rhythms are documented as destabilizing individuals with bipolar disorder; however, the impact of small phase altering events is unclear. Australian suicide data from 1971 to 2001 were assessed to determine the impact on the number of suicides of a 1-h time shift due to daylight saving. The results confirm that male suicide rates rise in the weeks following the commencement of daylight saving, compared to the weeks following the return to eastern standard time and for the rest of the year. After adjusting for the season, prior to 1986 suicide rates in the weeks following the end of daylight saving remained significantly increased compared to the rest of autumn. This study suggests that small changes in chronobiological rhythms are potentially destabilizing in vulnerable individuals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Barwon Health, University of Melbourne, PO Box 281, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia

    Michael Berk, Seetal Dodd, Lesley Berk & Margaret Henry

  2. ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Michael Berk & Karen Hallam

  3. Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Michael Berk

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    John Gleeson

Authors
  1. Michael Berk
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  2. Seetal Dodd
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  3. Karen Hallam
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  4. Lesley Berk
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  5. John Gleeson
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  6. Margaret Henry
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Correspondence to Michael Berk.

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Berk, M., Dodd, S., Hallam, K. et al. Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: The effect of daylight saving. Sleep Biol. Rhythms 6, 22–25 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x

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