Adjusting to the time change

It seems like every year when the time changes happen we ask the question, “How do I adjust so I don’t feel so tired?" For many people, the week after each time change contains a lot of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking refreshed. This is compounded in people who have difficulty in these areas to begin with. So, let’s look at the question of how to properly adjust to the time change to see if there’s something you can do to handle the shift in hours better.

 

Wind down earlier

This is a great strategy, especially in the fall when we gain an hour. However, it works well at both time changes in the year. In the week or so after a time change it is best to decrease what you have to do at night so that you can wind down earlier and adjust to your desired bedtime. When we have lots of work, chores, exercise, or other activity after dinner our hormonal production continues to be higher. If we scale things back, at least temporarily, it gives our bodies a chance to wind down stress hormone production and shift into a mode more conducive for sleeping.

 

Go to bed earlier when you are tired

It’s almost inevitable that when you begin to wind down earlier you will start feeling ready for bed earlier. A common problem I see in my practice is when people push through being ready for bed because they think it’s too early. If you fall asleep on the couch or start to doze off while reading a book you may actually sabotage your sleep. The sabotage happens when you get up and begin your bedtime routine. Unfortunately, you may have missed the ideal window to fall asleep and now your stress hormones are kicking in to get you off the couch and into bed. This problem is compounded if you are also doing chores like the dishes on your way to bed.

 

Exercise or be active in the morning

Nothing re-sets your internal clock better than exercise or activity in the morning. This does not have to be vigorous exercise. In fact, it is probably best to do something or mild to moderate intensity like going for a walk, bike ride, or gardening. The benefits are at least two-fold. First of all, morning exercise causes your body to properly produce stress hormones when you rise. This encourages the natural circadian rhythm which is enhanced hormone production during the day and decrease production at night. Secondly, exercise or activity produces endorphins, which make you feel good.

 

Conclusion

As you look at the three aspects of this strategy for handling time changes better you can see how it fits together. Essentially, I’m encouraging you to shift your active times of the day in order to feel less resistance to the clock changing what it says. The overall strategy here is to get ahead of the time change so that you’re not chasing it. Unfortunately, most of us chase the time change and this means we are tired when we wake up and then gradually increase our activity until it’s too late and then we can’t sleep properly. You can see how this can be a vicious cycle. Instead of falling into this common trap, try to get ahead of the time change this time around.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.