Losing an hour of sleep, gaining an hour of daylight

Sunday, Mar. 9 at 2 p.m. marks the beginning of Daylight Savings time as we turn our clocks forward.

The start of Daylight savings time is a great time to check and replace the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, then test them.

This is also the perfect time of year to rotate the items in your Emergency Preparedness Kit for your home and vehicle, or take the time to create kits.

The downside to the first few days can be a stressful time as your body adjusts.

Not only might you lose sleep, schedule changes can cause fatigue.

Fatigue impairment can be dangerous while driving, because it slows reaction time, decreases awareness, and can impair your judgement.

You can plan ahead to minimize the effects, like good trip planning that includes breaks every two hours, and avoiding having to drive between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

Being aware of the effects that the time change can have on your body goes a long way towards making adjustments to keep yourself safe on the road.