Daylight Savings Time

Spring is almost upon us! Welcome the sunshine, longer days, flowers blooming, allergies… and those three dirty words in the sleep world, “Daylight Savings Time.”

If you’ve got an early riser, spring ahead could actually be helpful! What was once a 5:30am wake up is now a 6:30am wake up. Rejoice! Nature just did you a favor.

But if you have a good thing going with your schedule, this one-hour time change could derail sleep for the whole family. But it doesn’t HAVE to!

I’ve got THREE strategies for conquering Daylight Savings Time like a champ.

1. Adjust your schedule gradually over the course of the week. Starting NOW.

Start with 10 minutes a day. The week before daylight savings, wake your child up 10 minutes before their normal wake time. (I know, this is going to painful.) If your child is on a schedule, just move each nap and bedtime up by 10 minutes.

For example, if your child wakes at 7am, wake them at 6:50am that morning. The next morning, you wake them at 6:40am, and so on. By Sunday, you will be on your regular schedule – but in Spring-mode!

If your child follows wake windows, keep following your normal wake windows throughout the day but adjust based on the earlier wake time.

2. Split the weekend.

If you prefer getting to the point, start Saturday morning (the day before daylight savings) by waking your child up 30 minutes earlier than their usual wake time. Again, follow your normal schedule by adjusting naps and wake times by 30 minutes. Sunday morning do the same. Adjust the wake time by another 30 minutes.

You will be on your regular schedule during the time change in a matter of days! Easier than you thought, huh?

3. Do nothing.

Just spring ahead and move your whole schedule with you. What was once a 6:30pm bedtime will be a 7:30pm bedtime. Some parents like this option as warmer weather and longer days approach, their child can play outside longer in the evenings. It also means sleeping in a little! A 7am wake up could mean 8am! A summer schedule and a winter schedule can be a good thing!

For families who have to be somewhere in the morning at a certain time, like daycare and work, this option will take longer for your child adjust.

Remember, a healthy bedtime for infants and toddlers is 8pm. Pushing past that time frame can result in an overtired kid who will struggle to get to sleep and stay asleep. Meaning an 8pm bedtime turned 9pm won’t be sustainable for your child or you. Make sure you adjust for this by making the wake time an hour early too. Maybe you don’t do it leading up to daylight savings, but you can gradually up bedtime in the following days.

If you go with option #3, manage expectations now. The time change could take days to weeks for your child to adjust. Stay consistent in your routine, stay firm in your wake up and bedtimes, and let the light of daytime and darkness of nighttime drive your schedule.

If your child is in daycare, do your best to keep an early bedtime to account for nap time not being adjusted at daycare. I’m talking as early as 6pm if you have to. Follow those sleepy cues and talk to your childcare providers about how naps went that day.

Your child WILL adjust to this time change. They are more adaptable than we often give them credit for. Use the light and dark to your advantage. Light stimulates wakefulness and darkness stimulates melatonin for sleep.

Coffee and patience go a long way during Daylight Savings Time. And if you want to know the truth, I usually end up following strategy three. It seems to put less pressure on everyone and it works for my family. We’re all going to be a little “off” when we spring ahead, but front porch Happy Hours with neighbors in the warm weather while our kids run around is what I’m focused on. And that’ll get me through a few rough days of transition. Hey, it might not be as bad as you expect!

Cheers!