Pushing the clock ahead one hour this Sunday may create problems by tinkering with your own “body clock,” experts warn.
But there are several ways to make the transition to Daylight Savings Time (DST) a little less tiring, including preparing for the change gradually before DST takes effect and getting more exposure to morning sunlight.
This is the first year Daylight Savings Time will start on the second Sunday in March in many parts of the United States, instead of the first Sunday in April.
“The change in time is only an hour, but it’s the change in light that makes a difference in how people feel,” explained Ralph Downey III, the medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Calif., and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
“An hour shift doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but it’s as if you’re behind the curve an hour a day until you get adjusted,” Downey said. “It can influence your mood, your ability to get things done, your ability to concentrate,” he said. In addition, people are more prone to driving accidents.
Downey suggested easing yourself into the change by spreading it over several days before DST actually starts. By going to sleep 15 minutes earlier and waking up 15 minutes earlier each day for the four days before DST starts, you will have adjusted your internal clock gradually and won’t have any of the negative effects from the time change, he advised.
Another expert suggested that getting more exposure to morning sunlight is the best way to reset your internal clock.
Most people can easily adapt to a one hour change, said Dr. Jose Loredo, the director of the Sleep Medicine Center at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. “However, there are people who are sensitive to the time change, especially people who have insomnia and children who have an established routine. This can really throw them off and cause significant problems with their sleep,” he said.
The key to adjusting to DST is exposure to sunlight, Loredo said. “We can actually change our internal clock backward or forward depending on the exposure to light,” he said. “The change isn’t immediate, it takes some time,” he added.
Loredo agreed that gradually adjusting your sleep schedule will help adjust your internal clock.
“But the best way to advance your clock is being exposed to sunlight in the morning. Bright sunlight, not inside but outdoors without sunglasses, for an hour to two hours a day will advance your internal clock by an hour,” Loredo said.
In addition, a small dose of melatonin can help, Loredo said. “To advance your internal clock faster or further, you can take melatonin (the lowest dose possible, whatever you get in the store — cut it in half) at five or six o’clock p.m. It’s not a sleeping pill, it helps advance the clock.”