Liahm Blank, Joshua Khorsandi, Roberto Sagaribay, and Kavita Batra (all Medicine), along with Elizabeth England-Kennedy, Jagdish Khubchandani, Karen Kopera-Frye (New Mexico State University), and Srikanta Banerjee (Walden University), recently published a review article in the journal Brain Sciences titled “When the Clock Shifts: A Comprehensive Review of Daylight-Saving Time (DST), Circadian Disruption, and Neuropsychological Risk in Chronic Mental Illness.”

The study examines how Daylight Saving Time (DST) transitions act as a population-wide circadian stressor, contributing to sleep disruption, cognitive impairment, emotional dysregulation, and short-term increases in psychiatric symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and suicidality. The authors note that individuals living with chronic mental illness may be particularly vulnerable to DST-related circadian misalignment because of underlying biological and neuropsychological susceptibilities, including disruptions in melatonin, cortisol, and clock-gene regulation. Blank and Khorsandi, both medical students, are currently working on several projects addressing global health and public health issues.