How to Make the Most of an Extra Hour When Daylight Saving Time Ends

Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 3rd in North America. This means the clock is set back an hour, counting down twice between 1am and 2am. Theoretically, we get one hour more that night, and hence the popular belief is that people can sleep an hour longer. In practice, parents of young children and people with regular sleep schedules know that this is a myth. There are many studies that show that not everyone benefits from the time change in the fall. Changing the clocks by one hour affects our sleep and work habits. Here are three important factors to consider as you prepare for or recover from a time change.

“Night Owls” vs. “Larks”

The dangers of changing clocks, including sleep deprivation and increased workplace injuries, are most evident when we switch to daylight saving time in the spring. However, a 2013 review of 16 studies shows that the end of daylight saving time also disrupts sleep. Dr Harrison, a senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, finds that people wake up earlier and are more likely to wake up during the night after setting their clocks back. Cumulative effects over at least five days or more result in significant sleep loss.

Lack of sleep is most likely to be felt by early birds, and not so much by night owls. People have different chronotypes: evening types have a natural tendency to go to bed later and wake up later, while morning types have an early bedtime and early awakening. Setting the clocks back suits an evening person’s schedule because going to bed later suits their biorhythm and they also welcome sleep. However, early risers wake up at the same biological time – those who usually wake up at 7 am. wakes up at 6 am after the time change in the fall. If you don’t adjust your sleep time accordingly, you will end up losing sleep rather than getting better sleep.

So, the strategy for coping with the upcoming time change depends on your chronotype. If you’re a night owl, chances are you won’t think too much about the time change. Going to bed later and waking up later is in sync with your body’s preferred rhythm. However, if you’re an early riser, an extra hour of sleep in the morning will be less beneficial. You will probably wake up early. To make the most of this extra hour, use it to start work, exercise, or any other activity that makes you happy. Of course, taking advantage of this extra time in the morning only works if you go to bed on time.

Children don’t read (social) watches

Another deciding factor for your sleep is what your housemates are doing. If you have children, they won’t care about the artificial time change that Benjamin Franklin came up with in 1784. Their bodies tell them it’s time to wake up at the same biological time before and after the time change, no matter what hour the clock says it is. So, sleep is a pipe dream if your little one is ready to play at 5:30 am.

To ease the transition for babies, pediatricians advise adjusting bedtime in 15-minute increments. It may be helpful to start on Friday before the time changes. Remember that to On Sunday, you should put your child to bed 15 minutes later than usual (for example, at 19:15 if bedtime is at 19:00). After If the times change, you will need to put them to bed earlier than usual (eg 6:30 pm) for the first few days, and then gradually move their bedtime back to 7 pm over five days.

Your body is ahead of your work schedule

Changing your hours by one hour also affects your work week. When Daylight Saving Time ends, your body is still an hour ahead of your social calendar for about a week. This means peak concentration hours are coming sooner than you think. For example, if you’re usually most alert between 10 and 11 a.m., that golden hour now starts as early as 9 a.m. This is useful to know when planning time for concentration, meetings or coffee conversations.

You’ll also likely feel hungry well before lunch in the week following the fall time change. At 12 o’clock your body thinks it is 13 o’clock. Since hunger can make you feel more irritable, it may be helpful to pack an extra snack for the first few days after DST ends. Likewise, getting to the end of your workday may be more difficult if you wake up early. Concentration and attention levels usually decline as the day goes on, but if you started your day an hour earlier, you will feel more tired in the last hour of work.

Most people take about five to seven days to adjust to their new schedule. Keep this in mind when planning your bedtime and scheduling your work week. While night owls will likely be in their element quickly, early risers may need to be more vigilant and get to bed on time to make the most of the extra morning hour.