Surviving The End of Daylight Savings Time
It's that dreaded time of year when we roll the clocks back and hour.
If you have a little one, the days of rolling over and pulling the covers over your head and sneaking an extra hour of sleep are long gone. The reality now is that if your little one was regularly waking at 5:30 am, guess what? They will now be waking you at 4:30 am! (We already feel the need to make coffee) It's like the universe plays some cruel joke on parents. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)
But, there are some ways to get your previously early riser to breeze through daylight savings without disturbing your sleep all that much. Here are 2 options to help minimize disruptions to your child's sleep and get you through the upcoming time change.
1. The gradual method. This method works best for babies that are 4 months or older, children who are early risers, children that get overtired easily and for parents who prefer to plan ahead.
For each of the 4 days before the clocks shift:
Delay bedtime by 15 minutes each night, 4 nights before the clocks change. So, the first night if your child's normal bedtime is 7:00 pm, put them down at 7:15 pm until you've worked your way up to delaying bedtime by one hour on night 4.
Shift all meals and naps accordingly throughout the day. Children thrive on consistency and will have a harder time adjusting unless their entire days schedule reflects the shift.
Keep the lights on and their environment bright in the evening by 15 minutes to help delay sleep. Sleep pressure is encouraged by melatonin production which happens when our eyes register darkness.
Keep the lights off and their rooms dark in the mornings. This is where your room darkening curtains will surely come in handy!
2. The faster method. This method can be best for children who are 1 year or older, and who do not get overtired so easily. Instead of adjusting their sleep 4 days ahead of the time change, you can do it 2 days before.
Delay bedtime by 30 minutes, 2 nights before the clocks change.
Shift all meals and naps accordingly throughout the day.
Keep the lights on and their environment bright by 30 minutes both nights to help delay sleep pressure.
Keep their room dark and lights off by 30 minutes longer in the morning.
Then there is always the less encouraged method of putting them to bed at their usual time, and adjusting their sleep in the days to follow. For some families, this method also works, but you need to be in-tune to your child's needs when it comes to restorative sleep during nap time. So sticking closer to home to ensure they can nap when they need to, may better equip them to adjust to the scheduling changes.
In reality, your child's inner clock will adjust to meet the clock on the wall (eventually). Our circadian rhythms are regulated by environments that are light and dark, so create an environment that will promote the sleep you are seeking. Being consistent with their schedule and simply shifting it to meet their needs at bedtime will help keep them on track. And remember, that if their sleep is disrupted, it won't last forever because you've already been working to establish good sleep habits from the start!