When clocks move forward in spring, some workers may be temporarily short on sleep and out of sync with their usual body clock. That can plausibly affect alertness, but evidence does not show that injuries rise in every workplace: one U.S. study found more and more severe mining injuries on the Monday after the change, while an Ontario study found no increase in injury-claim incidence.
How the spring clock change may affect alertness
Moving clocks forward by one hour abruptly shifts the time available for sleep and the timing of daily routines. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says it can take the body about a week to adjust sleeping, eating, and activity times after a time change. During that adjustment, reduced sleep or disrupted circadian timing may affect alertness and performance. That is a plausible pathway to greater risk—not proof that the time change directly causes a particular injury.
In its 2016 guidance, NIOSH recommends reminding workers to be especially vigilant at work, while driving, and at home after time changes. This is practical advice, not evidence that reminders or a particular workplace intervention prevent injuries. Read NIOSH’s guidance on adapting to the time change.
What the injury studies found
U.S. mining injuries rose on the Monday after the spring change
Christopher M. Barnes and David T. Wagner analyzed mining-injury records in a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health database covering 1983–2006. In their 2009 study, they reported more injuries and injuries of greater severity on Mondays immediately after the spring transition, when workers lose an hour on the clock.
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The authors also analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics time-use data from 2003–2006. Workers slept an average of 40 minutes less on those Mondays than on other Mondays. That study-specific average offers indirect support for sleep loss as one possible mechanism; it does not establish that reduced sleep caused each injury or represent every worker. See the Barnes and Wagner study record.
Ontario claims data showed no immediate increase
A separate study by Sara Morassaei and Peter M. Smith examined Workplace Safety & Insurance Board claims in Ontario from 1993–2007. It found no increase in work-injury claim incidence in the days immediately after the spring transition. The authors noted that lower counts on some later days were explained by Good Friday falling in the relevant week in three years, when fewer people were working. Their conclusion applies to the Ontario setting and claims data, not necessarily to other industries or jurisdictions. Read the Ontario study.
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Why the findings do not necessarily conflict
The studies measured different things in different settings. Barnes and Wagner examined injury records in mining and reported a pattern on the Monday immediately after the change, alongside a separate analysis of sleep duration. Morassaei and Smith examined Ontario compensation claims and found no increase in claim incidence in the days immediately after the transition. Differences in worker populations, data sources, and outcome definitions mean the results do not cancel each other out—and neither establishes a universal effect across all workplaces.
A 2026 systematic review covering 157 studies from 36 countries, with literature searched through June 2025, described the broader evidence as limited and heterogeneous. Its abstract reported that spring onset appeared associated with increased acute myocardial infarction and fatal traffic accidents, while the autumn offset appeared associated with decreased workplace accidents. Those broader findings provide context but are not direct evidence that spring transitions increase workplace injuries. Read the systematic review.
What workers and employers can take from the evidence
The evidence supports awareness of a possible short-term alertness issue, not a prediction that injuries will rise at every job site. NIOSH’s advice to remain vigilant after time changes is a reasonable precaution, but the cited studies do not test whether reminders, schedule changes, or specific products prevent injuries. Employers should continue to follow their established safety procedures, and workers should take care not to treat the clock change alone as a diagnosis of fatigue or a guarantee of elevated risk.
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