Sleep experts say that the spring time change is a harder adjustment than the one in autumn.
Most of the nation is already sleep-deprived and then they lose an hour of sleep with the time change, says Joyce Gray, a nurse manager of the Samaritan Sleep Center at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton. Gray, a founding member of the Ohio Sleep Society, noted that only about 30 percent of Americans get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
Making the time-change adjustment varies with each person and can take anywhere from a day to several days.
“Some people never really adjust,” Gray said, noting that people who are early risers usually have an easier time adjusting than those who are night owls, or go to bed late.
Kevin Huban, clinical director for the Miami Valley Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders, said that younger people usually adjust faster to the time change than older people.
Sleep experts say that those people who have a regular sleep schedule — with a set bedtime and waking time — have an easier time adapting to the time change.
For travelers, the general rule is that it takes the body one day to adjust to each hour of time change, said Dr. Moin Ranginwala, director of the Sleep Center at Springfield Regional Medical Center. So if a person flew from Ohio to California, which has a time difference of three hours, it would take a person three days to adjust.
“The human clock doesn’t adjust very fast,” Ranginwala said.
To help make the adjustment, three local sleep experts recommended the following tips.
Start early. Gray suggested that people begin adjusting their sleep schedule in 10-minute increments about seven to 10 days before the time change.
“That 10 minutes at a time is not so difficult to adjust to,” she said.
Huban recommended that people reset their clocks on Saturday morning and start operating on Daylight Savings time then. On Saturday night, he recommends going to bed at the new time.
“On Saturday night, it might be difficult to go to sleep,” he said.
However, by starting on Saturday, the body has time to adjust for the Monday work day.
On Sunday morning, Huban said people should get up and get active at the new time.
Get some light. Ranginwala recommended getting exposure to bright light on Sunday morning because this helps retrain the circadian rhythms.
“If you can, get light exposure in the morning,” Huban said.
Develop a regular sleep schedule. Those with a regular sleep schedule have an easier time adjusting to time changes.
Gray said that a regular sleep schedule, with a regular bedtime, waking time, and pre-sleep nightly routine, takes about three weeks to establish. While developing a sleep schedule won’t help people for Sunday’s change to daylight-saving time, it can help people adapt to future time changes.
“You’ll be able to weather those changes a lot easier,” Gray said.
About the Author