After spending most of the year operating on Daylight Savings
Time, it is coming to an end once again, throwing a wrench into the sleep
schedules for many of us. Each year many of us ask why we go through this
biannual time-changing tradition as we experience just how hard it is for our
bodies to adjust instead of keeping our same sleep schedule all year around.
Here's some information from the physicians and staff at Resurgens Spine Center
about how the end of Daylight Savings Time can affect your musculoskeletal
system and some tips that may help you cope with the time change.
Daylight Savings Time and Lack of Sleep
One of the hardest things we experience with the time
change is the effect on our sleep patterns.
It leaves us with an overall feeling of tiredness and brain fatigue. To counter this, when the time changes in the
fall, if you want to try to keep your same bedtime, you will need to stay up an
hour later than usual. Even though it is
just an hour, your body likely won't be able to accommodate for this difference
quickly, meaning you'll probably be staying up later and waking up earlier than
usual. While you're adjusting, your sleep cycle can be significantly impacted.
When you're operating on a deficit of sleep, you may be
more likely to suffer injuries related to an accident due to impaired cognitive
function or drowsiness. While the most severe effects of sleep deprivation
occur in the long term, the end of Daylight Savings Time can throw off your
sleep cycle for days or even weeks, leaving you vulnerable to these short-term
effects.
How to Cope With Daylight Savings Time Change
If you want to avoid the most severe effects associated
with the end of Daylight Savings Time, there are a few things you can do.
Because the time change occurs on the weekend, try adjusting your bedtime and
wake-up time by 30 minutes one day and by another 30 minutes on Sunday night
going into Monday. By the time you head out for work, you'll already have begun
adjusting to the new time change.
While it may be too late for this Daylight Savings Time,
you may be able to get a jump on the next one, by gradually adjusting your
sleep cycle by 5-10 minutes per day starting a week or two ahead of the time
change. As a mother of 3 small children, this has been my goal every time
change but does require foresight. Another option for some people is to
completely ignore the end of Daylight Savings Time! Instead of adjusting to the
time change, just go to bed an hour earlier and wake up an hour earlier until the next time change. That way, you'll
maintain a normal sleep cycle during that entire period, and you won't be as
stressed out when Daylight Savings Time returns. Who knows; you may even enjoy
having that extra hour in the morning for walking, yoga or other exercises
before you get ready for work!
The end of Daylight Savings Time is here, and our team at Resurgens
Spine Center hopes that these tips will help you decrease the negative effects
of the time change. Here's to hoping
that your body adjusts in just a few days as you get ready to head into the
holiday season!