It’s coming!
Whether we’re for or against it (and many people have very strong opinions about this subject), the change back to “regular” time from daylight savings time will be here very soon. On Sunday November 6, 2016 at 2 a.m. clock time shifts back one hour.
It works the same for all of us, regardless of our feelings about the change. If we normally go to bed at 11 PM, the new clock time will indicate it is 10 PM at that time.
According to a sleep expert, waiting until it is 11PM new clock time, makes it the equivalent of midnight before we changed clock time, so we are staying up one hour later. Some people, according to the sleep guru, find this change difficult and even upsetting.
In a recent article, the writer offered tips to try to make this change easier:
We are advised to remember that we have probably stayed up later on weekends for even more than one hour extra without too much trouble, so we know our bodies can adapt to a later bedtime. That fact, he says, can help calm some of our anxiety about the coming time change.
He suggests further that one week before it’s time to shift our clocks back, we should go to bed 15 minutes later. Every two days after, we should also go to bed an additional 15 minutes later. Doing this will gradually shift our sleep rhythms to be in sync with the time change when it comes.
During the week before it is time to shift our clocks back, we are encouraged to gradually shift our dinner time to a later hour. This will help shift our evening and time before bedtime.
We should also adjust the lighting in our homes, open our window coverings as soon as we awaken and in the evening, dim our lights to help us calm down before sleep.
The writer notes that it is helpful to install dimmer switches on lights so we can have adequate light to do our day end activities, while reducing exposure to bright light. Dimmer light is has a soothing effect.
We also want to respect and give attention to the part of us that is anxious about the time change. A good way to do, according to the writer, is to begin slowing down and relaxing sleep preparation activities one hour before the new sleep time. This is the time we went to sleep before changing clock time.
Taking a hot bath is another way to slow down before bed. In addition to providing relaxation, a bath raises our body temperature. When we get out of the bath our body temperature lowers, which is what happens when we sleep, so lowering our body temperature in advance helps us ease into sleep.
It’s no surprise that caffeine and alcohol both interfere with our sleep cycle. So for a day or two before the time changes, we’re asked to limit our intake of those substances which will help our sleep cycle shift more easily and naturally.
And if we need to nap, we’re cautioned to do it mid-afternoon at the latest and for a maximum of 30 minutes. Napping in the late afternoon or for longer periods can interfere with our body’s natural wake-sleep rhythms.
And if children are involved, the sleep experts proposes that we use the tips about going to bed slightly later and installing dimmer switches. He says those actions will help them more easily adjust to the time change.
The writer says he’s quite confident that turning our clocks back one hour can be very manageable if we just follow these simple tips. And who knows, maybe these same ideas also work for jet lag, insomnia, and other sleep related disorders . . . !?!
Courtesy Richard Shane, Ph.D, Sleep Easily Blog.
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