Losing one hour spoils everyone’s sleep in my house. It was one thing when it was just a couple of irritable adults, but now we have a 3 year old who doesn’t understand what daylight savings is or why he should go to bed earlier than he did the night before. Sure, we’d all love sunny evenings, but why did they have to go away in the first place?
The best way to avoid this madness is to start early. The scientists and brands I talked to all gave me the same advice: Start a few days earlier by setting your alarm 15 to 20 minutes earlier to allow for the time change instead of a rigid loss of an hour on Sunday morning.
For both my child and me, it’s not just the audible alarm that I would change, but also the sunrise alarm clocks near our beds. Light is one of the biggest things that can affect your circadian rhythm, and a noisy alarm has never been able to disrupt it for me. Here’s how a little extra morning light can make the whole transition easier for my family.
start early
Waiting to deal with the time change is a recipe for serious inconvenience. “Our bodies can’t make changes by a whole hour in one day,” says Emily Manugian, a scientist at the Salk Institute. “So if you can break it down into two to three days, it becomes much easier. It’s like changing your food, light, and sleep schedules by 20 to 30 minutes a few days before the DST shift.”
The psychologist says that light and food both synchronize your body clock, so these are good cues for change to help your body naturally adjust to the upcoming time change. She says animal studies show that changing the time you eat breakfast and dinner can help you adjust much faster and return to a normal life.
It will take a little more time to adjust your alarm each morning, but it’s better to get a little more done now rather than feeling groggy and disoriented the next week. Manoogian says acute circadian disruptions like the daylight savings shift can result in a number of health problems, including insulin resistance, gut problems, anxiety, depression and increased risky behavior.
just add light
Manoogian isn’t alone in suggesting starting earlier. Both Hatch and Lumi, makers of sunrise alarm clocks, gave me the same advice: Change your alarm a little earlier every few days. They both also recommend using lighting to your advantage.
A representative from Hatch says, “Light is one of the most powerful signals for resetting your internal clock, which is why exposure to morning light after daylight savings is especially helpful.”
While Lumi and Hatch both make great sunrise alarm clocks, they work differently. Hatch’s Restore 3 ($170) connects to Wi-Fi, so it can automatically update the time when daylight savings hits without you needing to change anything. You’ll be able to easily adjust the time of your alarm in the Hatch app, allowing you to make quick adjustments, as long as you’re within Bluetooth range of your restorer. The brand also introduced a Daylight Savings Assistant for use with baby devices like Hatch Baby ($100), which can automatically change the baby’s schedule in small increments over several days.
The Lumie, on the other hand, doesn’t connect to Wi-Fi or an app, so you’ll have to manually change the time on your alarm and clock. You’ll have to manually switch each night for the time change, as well as change the time completely on Saturday night and reset your alarm back to its original time. Although it’s more work, Lumi’s alarm clocks like the BodyClock Lux 700FM ($259) and BodyClock Shine 300 ($169) are brighter than the Hatch, so it’s still a good investment.
shockable model
Looking for a new sunrise alarm before Sunday? Here are the ones to get.
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