When it’s time for daylight saving, lots of us worry about losing an hour of sleep. An hour might not seem like a big deal, but this tiny loss can have serious health impacts on our body clocks. It’s usually harder to adjust to gaining an hour compared to losing one. Have you ever wondered why this is?
Our body’s natural sleep schedule is usually a little bit longer than 24 hours. This means that everyday we tend to push back our sleeping time. Changing the clock ahead by an hour (“springing forward”) goes against this natural rhythm and can have effects similar to jet lag if you’re traveling east, making it harder to fall asleep earlier than usual.
The time change makes us lose an hour of sleep, but this can cause a disruption to our sleeping patterns. As a result, we may feel tired and find it hard to get back into our usual routine, leading to bigger issues with being poorly rested.
At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital, we have a sleep evaluation center and we meet with people who struggle with too little sleep and time that doesn’t match up with what their body needs. Our experience has taught us that it is super important to get ready for the seasonal change that happens in the springtime.
Simple Steps to Help You and Your Kids Get the Sleep You Need During Time Changes!
Sleep deprivation can increase your risk of getting a heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. It also affects work safety and increases chances of car accidents. Teenagers may not be able to wake up in the morning for school, plus they may have troubles focusing in class or experience worsened mental health issues. We need to do something about this lack of sleep and shifts in our body clocks!
Before the weekend comes, here’s a few things you can do to stay prepared. It all starts by being aware of the situation and using information to your advantage! Here are some helpful tips so you’re ready for this weekend.
- Make sure you and, if you are a parent, your child get sufficient sleep during the days before the time change every year. Adult people usually need between seven and nine hours of sleep per day to function as they should. Kids need different amounts depending on their age.
- To prepare for the time change, try going to bed 15-20 minutes earlier than usual in the week before it. Wake up an hour early on Saturday – the day before the time change. If you can’t make these changes, keep your wake times constant on both weekdays and weekends to help adjust more easily.
- Light can help you wake up earlier. Especially when the clocks change in spring, make sure to get a lot of light first thing in the morning. If it’s too dark outside where you live, try using really bright lights inside your home that tell your body it’s time for you to wake up early. As the season goes on, there will be more natural light early in the day and this won’t be an issue anymore.
- At night, keep away from bright light and especially the blue light that comes out of electronic media screens (like phones or laptops). This kind of blue light might mess up your body’s natural ‘wake-up’ rhythm. If your devices let you, try to adjust their screens so they are dim and don’t produce so much blue light at night.
- In some places, owning room-darkening curtains can be useful before bed if the sun is still out then. Don’t forget to open your curtains when you wake up so you get natural sunlight in the morning and keep a healthy sleeping routine.
- Schedule your day and evening carefully – that way you’ll have an easier time falling asleep once the clock changes! Before going to bed, make sure to do something calming and enjoyable like reading or meditating so it’s easy for your body to wind down.
- Make sure to exercise at the beginning of the day, even if it’s just a short walk around your house or office.
- When you eat breakfast, have something high in protein since getting less sleep can make you hungrier and more likely to crave sugary foods
- Don’t drink caffeine after lunchtime because this can stop you from being able to fall asleep quickly and can mess up your sleep.
- Don’t drink wine before bedtime when you’re an adult. Drinking alcohol can mess up your sleep.
- If you have kids, it can be hard for them to adjust when the time changes. You might see more outbursts, crankiness, and their attention not being as focused. Make sure to set aside some extra quiet time after sundown where electronics are avoided for a bit. Also try giving your children younger then 13 a 20-minute nap in the mid-afternoon if adjusting is difficult.
Getting enough sleep is really important for everyone. It helps people stay productive and have a great day throughout the year! This article was written by Deepa Burman who’s the Co-Director of Pediatric Sleep Evaluation Center, and Hiren Muzumdar – Director of the Pediatric Sleep Evaluation Center, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh. It was first published in The Conversation.
