Burger King rolls out $1 deals to help you survive daylight saving time

Struggling to adjust to daylight saving time, Burger King is offering $1 deals to help you cope. In addition, the fast-food chain even has a deal for upcoming Pi Day on March 14. 

Why you should care:

The restaurant said Royal Perk members can , Royal Perks members will be a treated to a full week of deals:

• March 10: Free 4 Pc. Churro Fries with a purchase of $1 or more
• March 11: Free Md Iced Coffee with a purchase of $1 or more
• March 12: Free 5 Pc. French Toast Sticks with a purchase of $1 or more
• March 13: Free Large Hash Browns with a purchase of $1 or more
• National Pi Day – March 14: Free Hershey Pie with a purchase $3.14 or more 
• March 15: Free Sausage Biscuitwith a purchase of $1 or more

RELATED: Trump weighs in on Daylight Saving Time debate

Also, starting March 24, "Morning Mondays" are returning where members will be able to enjoy a croissan’wich and a small coffee for only $3.

An exterior view of a Burger King fast food restaurant in Danville, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

What happens to your brain when it’s lighter later?

Dig deeper:

The brain has a master clock that is set by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that determines when we become sleepy and when we’re more alert. The patterns change with age, one reason that early-to-rise youngsters evolve into hard-to-wake teens.

Morning light resets the rhythm. By evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to surge, triggering drowsiness. Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.

Sleep deprivation is linked to heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity and numerous other problems. And that circadian clock affects more than sleep, also influencing things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.

How does the time change affect your health?

Fatal car crashes temporarily jump the first few days after the spring time change, according to a study of U.S. traffic fatalities. The risk was highest in the morning, and researchers attributed it to sleep deprivation.

Then there’s the cardiac connection. The American Heart Association points to studies that suggest an uptick in heart attacks on the Monday after daylight saving time begins, and in strokes for two days afterward.

Doctors already know that heart attacks, especially severe ones, are a bit more common on Mondays generally — and in the morning, when blood is more clot-prone.

Researchers don’t know why the time change would add to that Monday connection but it’s possible the abrupt circadian disruption exacerbates factors such as high blood pressure in people already at risk.

Will the U.S. ever eliminate the time change?

Big picture view:

Every year there’s talk about ending the time change. In December, then-President-elect Donald Trump promised to eliminate daylight saving time. For the last several years, a bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent has stalled in Congress; it has been reintroduced this year.

But that’s the opposite of what some health groups recommend. The American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine agree it’s time to do away with time switches but say sticking with standard time year-round aligns better with the sun — and human biology — for more consistent sleep.