AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Daylight Saving time ended over the weekend, and you may feel good about getting an extra hour of sleep… or not. The time change could have a negative impact on your health, especially your heart. Daylight Saving can also make a shift in the body’s health “Most of us, myself included, we love to 'fall back,' and having that extra time to play and sleep is like adding an extra hour to our lives,” explained Dr. Stanley Wang, a specialist in Cardiology at Austin Heart. “But many of us don't realize that the opposite is actually true, and they actually may be shortening our lives each time we change that clock," Wang said. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advocated for eliminating Daylight Saving Time after research suggested that associated time changes disrupt the body’s natural circadian rhythm, putting stress on people's hearts. Why experts say keeping standard time is ‘undeniably’ better for us “Many studies have linked this now with dangerous outcomes like increased depression, increased car accidents and ER visits, and importantly, a greater risk of strokes and heart attacks,” said Dr. Wang. He agrees with the academy. As a cardiologist, Dr. Wang explained how changing the natural circadian rhythm even by just one hour can increase the risk of stroke. “Many of these strokes are pretty disabling. Sometimes they can leave you blind or mute or paralyzed, and any of these things can really compromise quality of life in a very serious way.” We asked Dr. Wang what can be done to lower your stroke risk. “If there's anything we can do to kind of lower the risk of this serious thing, whether it's, you know, treating blood pressure, watching out for cholesterol, or getting rid of daylight saving time. As a medical professional, it just makes a lot of sense.”