5 Tips to Take on Daylight Saving Time
Remember the days when DST meant that the bars were open an extra hour or they closed an extra hour? DST has a whole new meaning when you enter into parenthood. The purpose of Daylight Savings is to maximize sunlight by adding an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the work day.
Check out the 5 tips below to help you prepare and embrace the time change. After all, eating dinner and sneaking in a walk outside when it’s still light out sounds dreamy, doesn’t it?
Plan Ahead
If you’re a planner, this is for you! You can start the adjustment prior to DST to get your child’s sleep acclimated to the time change. With this approach, you will gradually adjust sleep over a few days prior to DST. You can do this by adjusting your child's wake time over a couple days so that when the clocks spring forward, your child has already gotten a jump start on it and wake time remains the same. This adjustment will spread the "lost hour" over numerous days with the intention of having a lesser impact than if it was taken all at once. If your child typically wakes up at 7a, wake your child up at 6:45a and go on with your day as you normally would. The next morning you would wake your child at 6:30, again keeping everything else "as is". If you do this a total of 4 times, you've made up for that hour and then on Sunday, voila - there's your child's 7a wake time back.
If you aren't a planner, don't fret! Keep on your schedule as you normally do and chances are, everything will go smoothly. 😊
Sleep, Sleep, Sleep!
DST always falls on a weekend, which is unfortunately also the time that families are often times a little more loose with naps and bed times. We get it! BUT try your best to keep DST weekend low key so that you can respect naps and bedtime over the whole weekend. It’ll help you stay well rested and in a better position to help your body make the adjustment. Losing sleep over the weekend, with a later bedtime or a missed nap, will just add to the hour you’re automatically losing whether you like it or not.
Routine
Children thrive on routine, so being consistent during your bedtime and nap time routines will be helpful in helping your child wind down and get ready for sleep. The predictability of your consistent bedtime routine will help your little one know what to expect and keep things as normal as possible.
Lighting is Everything!
Circadian rhythms are regulated by light and darkness. When exposed to light, our bodies are more awake and alert. When exposed to darkness, our bodies produce melatonin, the natural sleep hormone, to promote sleep. So during the day, get outside and enjoy some sunlight and fresh air! When you’re in the house, turn on lights to help regulate circadian rhythms. When it’s time to get ready for sleep, dim lights and help your body wind down for sleep. Blackout curtains or blinds are fantastic for helping make your child’s room as dark and sleep promoting as possible. This is especially important now as it stays lighter outside later and you want to create “nighttime” in your child’s room.
Give Grace
Let’s be honest, as much as you can prepare for DST, you never really know how it’s going to go until it goes. Your little one is likely going to be a little more crabby and irritable than normal – and that’s ok! You may feel the exact same way. Give grace to your little ones, yourself, your spouse and to everyone. On Sunday of DST, try your best to plan for some downtime especially if your child no longer naps.
Regardless of your approach to DST, your child's sleep schedule should adjust in less than a week to the new time change. So if you stay consistent with your child's routine and schedule, things will fall right into place.
Happy Spring! :)
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