Enjoy that extra hour of weekend sleep. But daylight saving is a national debate, and changes can impact health, docs say.

Daylight saving time will end in the early hours of Nov. 6, bringing on the darkness earlier.

But as we all get an extra hour’s sleep — or partying time — on Saturday, we can rest assured that the afternoon dark is likely the only negative to Eastern Standard Time.

It’s springing forward that’s the problem, according to sleep doctors.

“The bigger problem is usually when we go back in the spring, when you lose an hour,” said Dr. Asher Qureshi of the Saint Francis Hospital Sleep Center.

“You’re suddenly sleep deprived, which leads to problems in driving. … There’s a chance of having an accident. It affects your circadian rhythm, too,” he said.

That’s why Qureshi is glad that a bill that passed the U.S. Senate in March, the Sunshine Protection Act, was not approved by the House. It would have made daylight saving time year-round. Qureshi would like to have standard time all year to avoid the disruptions in circadian rhythms.

“It works well in summer, but in the winter months you’ll be stuck with more hours when you will be in the dark,” he said of daylight saving. “For your circadian clock and the brain, you need to be exposed to the sunlight.”

Qureshi is concerned with the morning, when the sun rises at a later hour during daylight saving time. “In the summer months, when you want to get an extra hour, you will not get that” if there were standard time all year, he said. “But it doesn’t affect the circadian clock of the human as much. You won’t get sleep deprived in the spring,” because the clock wouldn’t be moved ahead one hour if there were standard time all year.

Each of our systems has its own circadian rhythm, Qureshi said, including our hormonal, gastrointestinal and cardiac systems. All are controlled by the pineal gland, which makes melatonin, more of which is secreted when it is dark.

While the gland is deep in the brain, it is located near where the optic nerves cross and it receives messages from the nerve fibers.

Without enough sunlight, we can suffer “GI upset or hormone imbalance or … insomnia,” Qureshi said.

Dr. Jennifer Kanaan of the Sleep Disorders Center at UConn Health, said springing ahead can exacerbate potential health problems.

“When people make that adjustment, we see an increased risk of strokes, increased risk of heart attacks, increased risk of traffic fatalities, increased risk of atrial fibrillation,” she said.

Kanaan said there is another issue with moving the clocks forward in the spring, besides disrupting our circadian rhythms.

“As a nation, Americans are chronically sleep deprived,” she said. “And in the springtime, we’re actually losing an hour, and so we’re contributing even more to that chronic sleep debt that so many people suffer from.”

Kanaan advises not wasting the opportunity to get that extra hour of sleep in November, and to make the most of nighttime all year.

“You definitely want to stick to a consistent sleep schedule,” she said. “You don’t want to use it as an excuse to stay up later. You want to try to expose yourself to bright light first thing in the morning. You want to avoid those things that are going to interfere with sleep. So [no] caffeine, alcohol, any snacks prior to bed. You want to make sure that you’re limiting your screen time as well.”

To reduce problems in the spring, she said to begin adjusting several days before the time change, by going to bed 15 minutes earlier each day “so it doesn’t throw you for as much of a loop, that seems to be less of an issue in the fall.”

Just as we’re reminded to change the batteries on our smoke detectors when the clock changes, Kanaan said “it’s always a good opportunity to look at your sleeping habits to make sure that you’re getting enough sleep, making sure that if you snore, make sure that you get evaluated by a physician to be screened for sleep apnea.”

She said the bedroom should be cool, dark and comfortable, “and you’re limiting the bed really for sleeping and not for watching TV or playing on your iPhone. And then the other thing I put in a big plug for is shutting down those electronic devices at least one to two hours prior to bedtime, remembering that the blue wavelength of light that’s emitted from those devices can reset your internal clock.”

Kanaan did allow for an exception to “limiting the bed” for reading a book. “A lot of sleep physicians are really strict about that and say don’t read in bed,” she said.

“I personally find reading in bed very relaxing,” she said.

“So I don’t say to people, don’t read in bed. I would say use your best judgment,” she said. “If you find that it’s making it more difficult for you to fall asleep, obviously don’t read in bed beforehand, but for those people that find it very relaxing, I would say go ahead and continue to do it.”

The state Department of Consumer Protection Division of Liquor Control reminded residents that when we turn back the clocks from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, bars and restaurants may not remain open an “extra hour.”

“It’s dark, it’s probably cold, and it’s time to go home. Turning back the clocks might make you feel like it’s time for another round, but we’re all adults here. We know you’re tired. Head home courtesy of public transportation, a taxi or rideshare service, or a designated driver, and enjoy that extra hour of sleep,” Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull. “Don’t be the person who won’t leave when the party is obviously over, and as always, remember to use alcohol safely and responsibly.”

Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com