The Brief A new study concludes that changing the clocks forward in the spring can increase the risk of serious eye diseases. When it comes to the annual spring time change, researchers found that "even one hour of change can impact a patient’s health." A new study concludes that changing the clocks forward in the spring can increase the risk of serious eye diseases. Fall time change: A 20% to 40% lower risk across all four retinal vascular diseases studied. "There’s also been some literature suggesting that getting an hour’s sleep in the context of daylight saving might be protective."