Every year, daylight saving time (DST) ends on the first Sunday in November. And every year, it causes a ruckus, even with the extra hour of sweet, sweet sleep tucked in for comfort. Every year, people also erroneously tack an ‘s’ onto the end of “Saving,” but that’s beside the point.
The whole purpose of DST is to add extra daylight at the end of a traditional workday, a nice idea in theory. But in reality, when it ends and people “fall back,” it can feel something like being plunged into a black hole of seasonal darkness.
Doing away with daylight saving time
There is a Senate Bill currently awaiting discussion in the House, called the “Sunshine Protection Act.” If passed by the House and signed into law by President Biden, the country would “spring forward” in 2023 and then leave the clocks that way, permanently. This would result in darker mornings, but evenings would be brighter for those commutes and maybe a little time outdoors in the winter.
Only two states don’t follow DST, Hawaii and Arizona. Instead, they just keep the clocks static year round and take the sunrise and sundown naturally. Although they’re probably not as adept as the rest of us at changing the time on microwaves and standard ovens, they benefit in other ways from bucking the norm. Hawaii, for instance, doesn’t follow the Uniform Time Act because its location means that there’s not much variation in day versus night in the first place, so there’s no need to go through the trouble.
The Grand Canyon State of Arizona is in a similar situation. Since that state is pretty much all desert, residents already deal with plenty of extreme heat. This means that they aren’t as keen as other areas to add any additional daylight in the summer. For the moment, however, Arizona and Hawaii are in a boat by themselves.
Although many people are preemptively dreading earlier sunsets that will suddenly kick in on Sunday, November 6, there are some creative ways to spin the reset to your advantage. Here are a few suggestions on how to adjust to daylight saving time ending, so that you get better sleep in the process.
1. Catch up on sleep
The good news is that unlike Fall Back’s evil stepsister Spring Forward, in November we get an extra hour of sleep to play with. The savvy person will resist the urge to stay up an hour later, however, and instead go to bed at the normal time (adjusted for the change – so if you usually go to bed at 11 p.m., hit the hay at the equivalent of 10 p.m., instead). Your iPhone will still read 11 p.m., but your brain will know better. So if you had a particularly exhausting week, your body will appreciate the chance to recuperate a bit extra. Or, perhaps you’ll wake up an hour earlier, ready to take on the day. Either way, it’s a win-win.
2. Keep to a schedule
Tempting as it might be to sleep in on weekends or stay up super late, a consistent sleep routine is very important to overall health and well-being. Use the end of daylight saving time as an opportunity to reset your body if you’ve lapsed into poor sleep habits. To do this, set a specific wake-up time and bedtime for every day of the week, and stick to it. This will help to put your body into a good rhythm so it knows what to do and when. Improving your sleep hygiene, as it’s known, helps rectify problems like sleep disturbances, daytime sleepiness and trouble getting to sleep.
3. Wear a sleep mask
The end of DST means that the sun will come up earlier. If that time is before your regular rise-and-shine, try wearing a sleep mask to block out the sun’s rays to better adjust to daylight saving time. Or, invest in some room-darkening curtains/shades. They are a difference-maker, for sure.
4. Use the early sun to your advantage
Commit to using the earlier sunrise to get some much-needed vitamin D. Head outside for a brisk walk with the dog (or on your own), or open the shades and do some yoga in the morning sunlight. Exposure to this natural light first thing in the morning will do wonders at adjusting to the time chase and warding off seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Symptoms of SAD often appear during low-sunlight months and can show up as depression, weight gain, fatigue, pulling back socially, oversleeping and more.
5. Help children “fall back” gradually
Babies and kids generally don’t get the memo about the extra hour of sleep, which leaves weary caregivers to get up in the pitch-black wee hours of the morning. Adjust them to the change by moving bedtime gradually later a few days in advance. This will help their bodies sync with the impending time change, hopefully resulting in a tolerable wake-up time, come November 6.
6. Fuel yourself for good sleep
Some of the most popular nighttime snacks are actually the worst if a good night’s sleep is what you’re after. Ice cream, chocolate and salty chips are all disruptive to sleep patterns thanks to their sugar and salt content. Break these bad habits in advance of DST ending to achieve a better night’s sleep. Instead, shoot for calming foods, like bananas, nuts or a glass of warm milk.
7. Set up an evening routine
The human body will wind down if you tell it to through a standard routine. Nightly rituals will indeed help the brain move into “sleep mode” better than it would otherwise. Consider starting off with a shower, which signals the brain that the day is ending, and starts the relaxation process. Perform all necessary dental and skincare hygiene, adjust the thermostat as needed and settle in between the sheets. A few nights of sticking to a plan is usually all it takes to train your body.
8. Put away the devices
Your brain and body are already confused by the time change, so don’t make it worse with electronics! Cell phones, video games, television and the like mess up melatonin production in the last hour or two before bed. To help you adjust to daylight saving time, put all of those all away for the night at least 30 minutes before you want to go to sleep. At the very least, change settings on laptops, phones and other devices to “dark mode” well in advance of bedtime. This reduces the amount of detrimental “blue light,” which tricks the body into staying awake.
9. Do this instead before going to sleep
Wondering what to do without a last social media scroll or Netflix show? Those will only stimulate your brain and even cause anxiety if the content is tense enough. Instead, try reading a book using a book light or lamp with an incandescent bulb. Or, do some breathing exercises, meditation or other calming activities to relax the brain and body for sleep.
10. Don’t overstimulate yourself
Even if you’re still feeling sluggish in those first couple of days after falling back, resist the urge to overstimulate yourself. Excessive late-in-the-day caffeine consumption, evening exercise and such will help keep a person awake during the day, but will also result in insomnia come bedtime.
Save yourself when DST ends
Now that you know how to adjust to daylight saving time ending, the only thing left to do is follow through. With any luck, this could be the last time the American public has to suffer through the experience!
Source: rent.com