Do you find yourself dragging for days after daylight savings time sweeps through and steals an hour? Here are some tips to help you adjust.
Everyone seems to love when the winter rolls around and the clocks go back an hour. Yes, it’s a sign the it will get darker earlier and that winter is about to smack us in the face but, alas we get that extra hour to either play or sleep. Most of us use it to sleep.
Which is why when it comes time to leap forward and set the clock up one hour we tend to groan and complain. Who wants to lose an extra hour of sleep? I know I don’t. Yes, it will be lighter for a longer period of time and it’s a clear benchmark that spring will soon be here but, it still sucks to lose an hour.
Most of us use that ‘spring ahead’ time to get all of the basic things in order around the house. That’s when we check all the smoke alarms and make sure the batteries are new and fresh and that are fire extinguishers are up to par but, we tend to neglect adjusting to sleep. That’s because we really don’t know how.
Try as I might I still feel worn out for almost a week after losing that hour.
Sleep Number conducted a survey and has come up with some great tips to help us all adjust to Daylight Savings so not only do they have amazing pillows and mattresses to help us sleep comfortably through the night, they’ve taken the time to create some helpful hints to make sure we enjoy our sleep to the fullest and are well rested despite losing that hour.
They’re really great suggestions, especially the one about putting down your screens. I’m guilty of keeping my phone right next to the bed and checking even if I stir awake for a few minutes. I’m going to follow these tips and I’m also going to share them with you guys so you too can sleep like a baby:
4 Tips to Restfully Make it Through Daylight Savings Time
15 more minutes According to new national sleep survey from Sleep Number, over half (54 percent) of the respondents don’t feel they are getting enough sleep to be at their best. And when we lose an hour of sleep due to DST beginning, that sleep loss is even more evident. To make the time adjustment easier, don’t boil the ocean; start going to bed 15 minutes earlier than the night before… do this for 3-4 days.
Live in the future. On Saturday, live your life as if it’s already an hour ahead. For example, drink your last cup of coffee at 11 am (because that is really noon). Since caffeine has an approximate half-life of 6 hours, you don’t want to consumer caffeine after noon as it may impede your sleep.
Put down the screens. Survey results indicate that people who use devices in bed are more likely to feel they don’t get enough sleep (51 percent). Always make a screen-free zone about an hour before bedtime, which gives the eyes and mind time to relax before getting shut-eye (and allows the sleep hormone melatonin to trigger sleepiness). People in the Western region of the U.S. are the biggest tech-in-bed offenders, with 66 percent of respondents bringing devices to bed.
Monitor sleep to improve it. Fifty-eight percent of people wish they knew more about how to improve the quality of their sleep, yet only 16 percent actually monitor their sleep (versus 41 percent who track exercise and 43 percent who track diet). And, women are more likely to focus on improving their sleep compared to men. Sleep Number’s SleepIQ technology offers a simple solution to those who want to know better sleep.
What do you think of the tips? Are you going to use them? Whatever you decide make sure you rest well. Night Night. For more information visit: SleepNumber.com
