Your family will LOVE you for letting them sleep in this weekend! But is that the best idea? When Daylight Saving Time Ends this Saturday night (technically, Sunday morning at 2am), we gloriously get to “Fall Back” and get an extra hour of sleep! YES! GLORY! However, that might make our sleep schedules all “whack” and lead to potentially grumpy kids (and mom!) Is there a word like “hangry” for sleep deprivation? I guess “Mombie” might fit that bill. But to help us all out, I rounded up my Top 5 Favorite Tips to help make Daylight Saving Time changes easier on our kids (and ourselves!)
My Top 5 Tips to help Make Daylight Saving Time Changes Easier for You and Your Kids!
Here we go! I hope these tips can help you encourage your family to get the rest they need, so we can really dive into November and ENJOY IT! We’re in the middle of the 101 Days till Christmas Countdown … and at 53 days it’s getting so close we can almost here Mariah Carey singing! 🙂
1. Turn off electronics 1 hour before bedtime
Many articles, including this one from Healthline, suggest turning off electronics 1 hour before bedtime. It helps with both a little more family time & togetherness, but also helps our brains start to wind down for a good (no GREAT) night’s sleep.
2. Stick with a consistent bedtime routine
Another great article from USA Today shared this reminder to stick with a consistent bedtime routine. Even though no one is complaining that we’re getting an extra hour of sleep (YAY!!!), it can still mess with our bodies’ biological clocks and rhythms (yuck.) So it’s definitely a good idea to try to stick to (or implement) a bedtime routine at home. I’ll admit I’m not a stickler on routines, and to be honest, I’ve seen that affect our family dynamic. This seems like a GREAT opportunity to try and see if we can stick to a bedtime routine … and be a little less stressed and happier to start the day!
3, Get Plenty of Sunshine!
The sleep experts at Sleep Better.org recommend probably the EASIEST tip to help your family with Daylight Saving Time changes — get out in the sun! This weekend, if you can and weather allows, try to get the family out to a pumpkin farm, a walk around the neighborhood or just the backyard! It’ll make for a more fun family weekend, but there are a bunch of other benefits!
Another good idea after the time change is to make sure you get plenty of sunlight during the day. The fall time change marks the beginning of shorter and darker days. Since sunlight is needed to keep your circadian rhythms on track, the fall and winter months can lead to sleeping difficulties and depression for many. To combat this, be sure to get plenty of light in the morning and throughout the day. Natural sunlight is best, but if the days are cloudy or you’re up before the sun, turn on plenty of lights in the house and consider getting a light box. (Source: Sleep Better.org.)
4. Teenagers LOVE it when we “Fall Back,” but …
Dr. Craig Canapari, who directs the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center, shared in this article that it might help your teen to stick to the bedtime they had BEFORE Daylight Saving Time ends. That might help them go to sleep a bit earlier and help them get the rest they need. If they normally went to bed at 11:30pm, going to bed at 10:30 will feel the same, but help them sleep better. Thanks for that tip, Dr Craig!
5. Dim the lights!
This is another tip that falls into the relatively “easy” category. If you have the ability to dim the lights at home, it’s a great way to get everyone to start winding down and get ready for bed. In our home, our bedtime routine starts after dinner and dishes (which is usually a fight because “I did chores earlier” and “sister hasn’t been helping,” etc…!) One of the kids usually goes up to take a shower, the other may watch something on Netflix, or go on our nightly walk with Ella, our fur baby!
This is another great Parents.com article, where they remind us to dim the lights, especially in the kids’ rooms. Sometimes I’ll go into the kids’ rooms and turn off the lights, leaving only their desk lamps to create that “dimmed lights” effect. We’ve had light dimmer switches before, so this might be a fun time to think about doing that again!
Do YOU have any tips that help you and your family with Daylight Saving Time changes?
Feel free to share in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you! And I hope this Daylight Saving Time change ending is a blessing to your family with better sleep schedules, fun times getting a bit more sunlight & enjoying the next 53 days as we continue this 101 Days till Christmas Countdown! YAY!
Laughing thru life,
Coppelia
