Sleep Tips For Daylight Saving Time on Sunday

By Kelly Turner on March 13th, 2010

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Daylight Saving Time (not savings, a pet peeve of mine) hits this Sunday, March 14th at 2:00 am.  For some, it’s no big deal, but for those who are on strict schedules, an hour can make all the difference- and not in a good way.  Spring is almost here, which means the clocks will “spring” forward an hour, causing us to lose 60 minutes of precious sleep.

Sleep is a vital part of everyone’s health, no matter your age, but many of us do not get the recommended amount.  Lack of sleep can effect mood, immune function, productivity, and attentiveness.  Experts recommend:

• Adults receive 7-9 hours per night

• Toddlers receive 12-14 hours per night

• School aged children receive 10-12 hours per night

• Teens receive 8.5-9.5 hours per night

Experts also say that equally important as the number of hours of sleep is sticking to a sleep schedule, or routine, to ensure that the quality of sleep is as restful as possible.  Inevitably, springing an hour ahead will throw a wrench in your family’s sleep routine.

If you are worried how Daylight Saving Time will effect your family, or it your family is a pack of walking zombies every morning all year round, here are some ways to make the morning a little easier on everyone.

Stick to your regular schedule. Thankfully, the time change occurs on the weekend, so take advantage.  Let the little one’s sleep in an hour later than normal to make up the difference instead of trying to get them to go to bed an hour early.  It is easier to make up the hour once already asleep, instead of trying to get the kids to go to sleep when they aren’t yet tired.

Get up immediately. Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room, so when it goes off, you have to get up to turn it off.  Experts agree that using the snooze button can leave you more tired than if you got up immediately.  Everyone goes through sleep cycles throughout the night, and to reach the most restful part of sleep takes about an hour.  Waking up again before you have reached it will leave you more tired than if you never went back to sleep at all.  Under the same logic, when you wake up children, make sure they get up- don’t give wake up warnings.  This will ensure they are alert all day long.

Everyone needs a bed time- even you. There’s that sleep schedule again.  Your body is a big fan of routine.  It might take a little getting used to, but getting to bed at the same time every night will let your body know what to expect, and it will begin to shut down automatically.

Turn off the electronics. Blue light, which is given off by the screens of electronics, has been shown to stimulate the brain and interfere with sleep.  Two hours before bed, have the kids turn off the TV and video games to help them unwind.  That goes for your laptop, too.  Engage in relaxing activities, like reading, listening to music or completing crossword puzzles.

Limit caffeine. Hopefully your kids aren’t guzzling coffee before bed, but caffeine can have a longer lasting effect than most realize, which can make falling asleep difficult and deep sleep harder to achieve.  Caffeine has a half life of 3-5 hours (it takes your body that long to eliminate half) but the remaining can last for 8-14 hours.  For adults, coffee and tea should be limited to morning only, and for kids, caffeinated sodas should avoided as much as possible.  Chocolate has less caffeine than most people think, and the link between sugar and hyperactivity is still under debate, but these should be given to children sparingly anyway, because of their lack of nutritional value.

Prepare for the morning. Rushing around is never a good way to start the day.  Make sure the kids have their clothes picked out, homework done, and backpacks packed and ready to go before they go to bed.  Make sure lunches are packed, coffee pot is ready and breakfast is planned and ready to throw together.  The less stress, the better the tone for the day.

By implementing these ideas, and streamlining your entire family’s sleep routine, your mornings will cease to be the stressful chaos you are so used to and set a peaceful, positive tone for everyone’s day.  With less screaming, yelling and pot banging, you may actually have some time to eat breakfast together, and, you know, talk.