Find out when the clocks go back for winter and how to mitigate the effect on your sleep.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere dark nights are drawing in. In the UK, we’ll officially change to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) just after midnight on Sunday 27 October 2024 — giving us one whole extra hour on Sunday morning to snooze in bed.
It’s estimated that we need an extra one to two hours more sleep during winter months. This instinct to rest is hardwired into our DNA, with darkness gently adjusting our circadian rhythms to rest mode. We like to call this time ‘The Season of Sleep’.
To lie-in, or not to lie-in?
Whilst enjoying the whole extra hour asleep may be tempting, be conscious that it can catch up on you. The reason change is so disruptive for sleep is because our bodies crave consistent routine. The body likes to know what time we’ll be going to sleep each night, what time we’ll be waking up, what time we’ll be eating, and what time we’ll be active. That’s because it's primed to use energy as efficiently as possible. Like clockwork, and the nature of all things, our body has a certain order. So much so that researchers tell us we should strive to have the same amount of consistent sleep each night rather than function on 5 hours mid-week topped up by extra sleep hours on weekends.
If you have children to care for, you’ll know how tricky the transition around this time of year can be. Children are especially sensitive to routine. Which is why, even if your own sleep schedule is out of the window (for now), it’s wise to take extra care to limit the impact the shift to daylight saving can have on them.
For those who have busy lives juggling work, family and caring responsibilities you may be more susceptible to stressors as a result. The more sleep you can get, the more time your brain can regenerate and recover – helping to regulate hormones, the effects of cortisol, and to boost your cognitive function. If you’re feeling sleep deprived now, we urge you to use this as your chance to build healthier sleep into your routine.
Our mission at Ava Innes is to ensure you sleep well each and every night. So, to help you sail smoothly into the season of sleep, try these clock change steps…
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Gentle adjustments. From Wednesday 23rd October, move bedtime forward by 15 minutes. Push it an additional 15 minutes each night up until Saturday evening.
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Account for dark evenings. Dark nights can often result in more and more screen time. We recommend choosing a winter hobby to commit to. This can be reading, meditating, crafts ahead of Christmas, letter writing, or journaling. The brain likes of all these tasks because it helps us to flow and unwind. This is especially important for anyone with a particularly screen intensive job or who struggles shutting off at night.
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Clear differences for morning and night. Adding special lighting such as nightlights and lamps bring that sense of cosy we crave during darker days. But consider how you can specifically differentiate lighting for mornings versus evenings. This could be fixing your lighting on a morning very differently to how you wind down on an evening; think about specific lamps, and string lights.
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Adjust the family routine accordingly. Move mealtimes in accordance with bedtime. If you have a dog to walk, where possible, try to move at least one of your walks to daylight hours – the exposure to sunlight will do wonders for your sleep and overall wellness.
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Explain the change to little ones. This time of year has a huge impact on children. Leaving nursery in the dark. Evenings spent indoors. No sunlight to start their mornings. But this time of year can be exciting. Use this as an opportunity to talk about the seasonal cycle we have, and why sleep and changing our routine is so important. Let them choose how your new routine could look.
- Use this as your opportunity to revisit your sleep wellness plan. Instead of seeing Sunday the 27th as an excuse to get one extra hour, use this change in time as an opportunity to revisit your sleep wellness. Ask yourself the following questions… Are you getting enough sleep? How are you using your time after 8pm? What reasonable changes (start with two, and go from there) could you make each evening to improve your sleep? How can you prioritise your sleep? We recommend approaching this time of year as a way to look at your bigger sleep picture to make sustainable and long-lasting changes that will form the bedrock of your improved wellness.
Discover more from Sleep Talk by Ava Innes.
