Adjusting Your Sleep As The Time Changes

According to the, Americans first experienced daylight saving time in 1918. While returning to standard time on the first Sunday in November allows you to sleep in an hour, the springtime transition to daylight saving time can hurt your sleep health.

鈥淕oing back to daylight saving time is always challenging,鈥 says Dr. Ana Krieger, professor of clinical medicine and medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at AV研究所. 鈥淵ou lose an hour of sleep, and that can be hard to regain if you鈥檙e already busy in the evenings.鈥

Until the government approves a year-round time, such as permanent daylight saving time, 丑别谤别鈥檚 what you should know for better sleep.

How Daylight Saving Time Affects Your Body鈥檚 Rhythm

Your body runs on circadian rhythm, an internal 24-hour clock that affects your mental, physical and emotional health. Along with light exposure, food and stress, sleep loss can affect your circadian rhythm. Unfortunately, that happens every time daylight saving time starts or ends.听

鈥淭丑别谤别鈥檚 never an upside to gaining or losing an hour of sleep,鈥 Dr. Krieger says. 鈥淚t always messes with your body鈥檚 internal clock.鈥

This disruption to your sleep-wake cycle does more than goof up your sleep schedule. It also puts you in harm鈥檚 way. The notes that heart attacks and increase in the first few days after daylight saving time begins. Motor vehicle accidents do as well. You may even experience worsened symptoms of the following:

Protect Your Sleep From Daylight Saving Time

To protect your sleep through daylight saving and standard time changes, Dr. Krieger suggests the following:

  • Adjust your schedule slowly. Change your bedtime in 15-minute increments. Every couple of days, adjust your bedtime until you鈥檙e going to sleep and waking up at the same time as before.
  • Don鈥檛 stress if you struggle. Adjusting your sleep schedule to time changes can take a week or two, so don鈥檛 stress if you feel sleepy for a day or two. It should get better. If not, you may have a sleep disorder that requires care from a sleep medicine expert.
  • Take advantage of the change. 鈥淯se the time change in the fall to find out if you could feel better with an extra hour of sleep,鈥 Dr. Krieger says. 鈥淚f so, implement that into your daily routine moving forward.鈥

Conclusion听

Adjusting to daylight saving time and standard time can disrupt your sleep. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to reduce its effect when losing or gaining an hour of sleep.

  • Entering and leaving daylight saving time messes with your body鈥檚 internal clock, also known as your circadian rhythm.
  • When the time change affects your circadian rhythm, you may be more likely to experience heart attacks, anxiety and other physical and mental health issues.
  • By slowly adjusting your sleep schedule and being patient, you can readjust to the new time.

Need a partner to help you sleep better all year? at AV研究所 to get started.

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