Every spring, the clock moves forward by one hour. It appears minor on paper. Just sixty minutes. And yet, for many people, the shift feels disproportionate to its size. Sleep feels lighter. Mornings feel abrupt. Mood feels slightly unsettled. Concentration dips. The body feels off.

This reaction is not imagined. It is biological.

Not all stress announces itself loudly. Some stress is sharp and obvious, tied to major events or crises. But much of what shapes how we feel each day is quieter. It comes from small interruptions, low grade pressure, background worry, constant notifications, emotional restraint, and the subtle sense of always being slightly behind.

“It’s very, very difficult to get angry when you’re laughing. And my own experience is, you get good at finding the comic element of what happens.” —Irvine

Most people associate stress with feeling wired. But stress and fatigue also go hand in hand. It’s actually fairly common to feel the need to fall asleep when you’re incredibly high-strung, although nothing has been definitively confirmed in scientific literature as to why.