Ways to Deal With the End of Daylight Savings Time

image

Here come the sun: Mornings get a little cheerier when things brighten up. 

By Michael Gollust

If you’ve been starting your day in near-total darkness each morning, relief has arrived: November 2 marks the end of Daylight Savings Time (in most of the country) — the day when your clocks “fall back” an hour. That means you get a bonus hour of light in the morning, but lose an hour in the afternoon.

Although the prospect of leaving work when it’s dark out may be depressing, sleep specialist and clinical psychologist Michael Breus, PhD, reminds us to count our blessings. “Believe it or not, people have an easier time adjusting to this time change than to the one in March,” Breus says. “That’s because we gain an hour of sleep in the fall, but end up losing an hour when we ‘spring ahead.’”

Here, how to make the transition to Standard Time as seamless as possible, plus some silver linings to the time change.

RELATED: 11 Surprising Health Benefits of Sleep

After the time change, maximize your sun exposure…

Even after the fall back, it’s not uncommon to feel out of sorts the first few days of November. It doesn’t help that the sun will start setting close to 5pm. So what should you do?

While your afternoon mood might take a hit because of the looming darkness, Breus advises taking advantage of the extra sunlight in the morning, which can give you a mood boost to start the day. If you tend to work out in the evenings, switch your routine to the morning. At the very least, make an effort get outside during your lunch break, if only just to take a walk around the block.

…and maybe boost your indoor light

If you’re still feeling draggy in the afternoon after a few days, consider investing in a light therapy box, which can counteract your brain’s inclination to start producing melatonin when the sun goes down. Just be sure to look for one that provides alertness-promoting blue light. “Blue light mimics sunlight and tells the brain to stop producing melatonin, the chemical that starts your brain’s sleep engine,” Breus explains.

If you need a little burst to get over that 4pm hump at work, click on the light and let it shine for no more than 20 minutes. “That amount should be enough to make you feel more alert for a couple hours,” Breus explains. If you want to get to bed at a reasonable hour, be sure not to use the light after 7pm; any later than that can interfere with your sleep.

Breus likes the Philips goLITE BLU ($137, amazon.com), but Amazon has a range of light therapy box styles and sizes. Don’t want to buy another gadget? Definity Digital by LightingScience makes alertness-promoting bulbs you can install in most household fixtures ($70, amazon.com).

And if you have kids…

The downside to falling back is that small children, already allergic to spending extra time in bed, may actually start waking up an hour earlier. Breus suggests making the morning of November 2 a special occasion. The night before, lay out books or games the kids can play with quietly when they wake up. Set an alarm in their room(s) for when you’ll wake up and tell them it’s bonus playtime and they don’t have to bother mom and dad!

If the thought of your kids quietly reading and biding their time until the sun comes up sounds preposterous, don’t hesitate to bring out the big guns. “Even setting your kids up to watch a video in the early morning is okay in this instance,” says Breus. “In all likelihood, the parents could use that extra hour of sleep, so do whatever it takes to take advantage of it.”

More from Health.com:

14 Foods That Make You Look Older

12 Worst Habits for Your Mental Health

11 Secrets to All-Day Energy