If you haven’t noticed already, Daylight Saving Time is officially here! With the majority of the United States losing an hour beginning at 2 a.m. [local time] on Sunday, March 11th, you and your kids are probably having a great ol’ time trying to catch up on sleep, go to bed when they/you should, and wake up at a decent hour. Oh the joys!
It’s crazy how such a small change can affect our sleep – and therefore moods – in such a major way! As we spring forward and advance our clocks an hour, it affects our circadian rhythm, changing our principal time cue – light – forcing our bodies, and minds, to reset our natural 24-hour cycle. Not only do we lose an hour, we also have to go to bed an hour “earlier”, which makes falling asleep more difficult as our body naturally wants to stay awake to our “normal” bedtime. Consequently, this makes it harder to wake up in the morning as well. Now you can understand why your kids have been throwing such a fit this past week!
Thankfully, in general, most people adjust to the time change within a few days. This can’t always be said for young kids though – as you may be noticing right about now. However, you can help the adjustment by decreasing exposure to light during the evenings, exercising, trying to have a consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine (especially for those kiddos), and then reducing or eliminating alcohol and caffeine for yourself. Yes, I know, this may seem hard during the daytime, but boy is it nice when it’s time to go to sleep!
So hopefully this helps you realize that there is light at the end of this time warp-type tunnel, and that both you and your littles ones will be off to better night’s sleep in no time! And hey, at least this means that spring and warmth is right around the corner!
Curious to learn more about getting a better night’s sleep – then check out our article about Getting More Quality Sleep, because it is National Sleep Month after all! You can also read our past blogs about 8 Reasons You Need to Get More Sleep and 5 Ways to Improve Your Sleep for even more great tips!
Have additional questions? Please feel free to CONTACT US today!
And for more information on Better Sleep Month, please visit the Better Sleep Council Website. http://bettersleep.org/
