Daylight Saving Time And Your Sleep Cycle

Spring is sauntering in, the temperature is slowly increasing and the sun is rising earlier in the day. This Sunday is daylight saving time, so that means you get to set your clocks an hour forward. But why exactly do we do this? And how does it affect our sleep cycles?

According to History.com, daylight saving time was not originated by Benjamin Franklin, but instead an Englishman named William Willett. He spent a chunk of his life advocating for this idea, but it wasn’t actually adopted until WWI, when the Germans decided they needed to conserve electricity.

In the United States, daylight saving time was extremely confusing throughout the 1900s. Various cities decided to and not to enact it, and travelers would cross through several different time zones between cities. Finally, in 1966, it became standardized with the Uniform Time Act.

Daylight saving time affects circadian rhythm. Not only will we lose an hour of precious sleep, we will also likely be waking up and taking on the world while it’s still dark outside. This will cause many of us to feel drowsy and as if we don’t want to wake up in the morning, let alone get anything productive done. You might have a challenging time focusing and feeling any type of motivation.

However, there is hope!

The number one piece of advice we have for those trying to avoid daylight saving time fatigue is: sleep! Go to sleep a little early if possible and make sure you are enjoying at least seven to eight hours. This will drastically reduce the feeling of drowsiness for most.

There are a few other tricks you can use, like making sure you exercise to tire yourself out for an earlier bedtime on Saturday. Also, make sure you expose yourself to the sun during the day but stay away from bright lights in the evening.

And of course, we might be biased, but a massage or any other form of relaxation can help you transition into an earlier sleep time on Saturday!

You might be losing an hour of sleep but that doesn’t mean losing an hour of relaxation. Spring over to Sewickley Spa for a day of rejuvenation, even when you feel fatigued!