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Are you ready to move your clocks forward an hour this weekend? That’s right — for most people in the United States, it’s time to “advance” Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 a.m.
“For whatever reason, Daylight Saving Time always creeps up on us,” said pediatrician Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, a professor of adolescent medicine in the department of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona and US territories in the Pacific and Caribbean do not follow the time change.
For people who adjust their clocks, the body doesn’t like getting up an hour early, so it’s best if you and your kids start adjusting by going to bed and waking up 15 to 20 minutes earlier each day for four or more days before the change, experts said.
“Planning for the change may be key to minimizing the impact of this change in your body’s circadian rhythms,” said sleep specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
Start adjusting the timing of other daily routines that time your body as well, such as food, exercise and medication, he added.
Preparing in advance is a good plan for teenagers, who are naturally programmed to stay up late and sleep late, and for anyone in the family who is a night owl, said Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Didn’t do that? Do not despair. “It’s never too late to start,” Dasgupta said. “Sleep is very individual, and every child responds differently to the change in weather. Make sure that you as a parent also get the rest you need, so that you are not too angry with your child.
Younger children tend to adapt a little better to time changes than older children and adults, Breuner said, so they may need fewer days to adjust.
Zee, who is also a professor of neurology at Feinberg, agrees: “For most young children, shifting their bedtimes and waking up about 10 to 15 minutes earlier starts three days before the time change helps them adjust to the time change in the social clock. on Monday morning,” he said.
If that doesn’t happen, expect some tantrums until your child’s body adjusts, and be prepared to cut them back slowly, Dasgupta says.
“In the days after Daylight Saving Time, I try to be more forgiving when my child has a temper tantrum,” she said.
There are other ways parents and caregivers can ease the transition, Breuner said. Lay out clothes and pack homework before bed to reduce stress in the morning. It’s also a good idea to pack a to-go breakfast in case it’s running late.
“That way they’re snacking on the bus or in the car versus trying to sit down for a full breakfast when everyone’s like ‘Whoa, it’s been an hour,'” he said.
And “don’t let the kids sleep,” he added. “That just prolongs any adjustment to the time change.”
For everyone in the family, the emerging morning light is a good thing, experts say. When light enters your eyes, it’s a signal to the brain to shut down melatonin, the hormone the body produces to help you sleep.
“Get bright light in the morning within 20 to 30 minutes of waking up,” says Zee. “Increase the brightness of the light at home, school and work throughout the morning.”
This strategy is especially important for teenagers and night owls, Zee says, and they should do it before and continue after Daylight Saving Time starts to help adjust to the new time.
Breuner advocates making a “really hard rule” about keeping televisions, smartphones, laptops, gaming devices or any other electronic device out of the bedroom.
“Devices should be turned off and charged from the bed, whether it’s in the kitchen or another room other than the bedroom,” he said.
“We don’t secrete melatonin to help us sleep when we’re looking at light,” Breuner said.
When it comes to teenagers, don’t grab the “I need my phone for an alarm in the morning, and it helps me sleep at night,” he said. “Get up and take out your iPod and listen to music and get a regular alarm clock.”
If a child is struggling with depression or anxiety, not getting enough restful sleep can have serious consequences. “The likelihood that the child will have worse behavioral health outcomes is higher,” he said.
The same rule about light applies at night, but in reverse, Zee said. He suggests avoiding bright light for at least three hours before bed: “This will allow your own melatonin to rise and promote sleep.”
Make sure your bedroom also promotes sleep, Zee adds, by reducing light from outside with light-blocking shades or curtains. Keep the lights in the room dim and choose LED lights with a redder or brownish tone.
Ban any lights in the blue spectrum from the room, such as those emitted by electronic devices such as televisions, smartphones, tablets and laptops. Blue light is the most stimulating type of light, telling the brain it’s time to wake up.
Once you go to bed, keep the room cool and very dark — light can get in even with your eyelids closed.
That’s what happened in a 2022 study conducted by Zee that put healthy 20-year-olds in a sleep lab. Sleeping for just one night with dim lighting, such as a TV set with the sound turned off, raises blood sugar levels and heart rate, even if the eyes are closed during sleep.
Another study by Zee found that exposure to any amount of light during sleep was associated with diabetes, obesity and hypertension in older men and women.
