Getting Yourself Ready for Daylight Savings

Let’s get ready to Spring Forward! That was dripping in sarcasm, and I’m sorry. While I am looking forward to the sun staying up longer, I’m dreading that hour of sleep we’ll be losing this Sunday, March 13. We’re turning the clocks forward from 2 AM to 3 AM on Sunday morning. I’ve been noticing how light it is out still around 6:30 PM, and was excited for the upcoming spring and summer night activities with the extra light we have.

Then, I realized Daylights Savings is this weekend! Some sleep experts at the National Sleep Foundation say that there are ways to prepare for losing that precious hour of sleep on Sunday morning. AJC.com has put together a great list of ways to prepare for springing forward. Considering it’s only Tuesday, you’ll have some time to get adjusted to the upcoming time change.

• Start waking up a little earlier each day this week until Sunday. They recommend adjusting your wake up time by 10 minutes to help advance your sleep cycle.
• Lighting is key. When it’s bright and sunny out, make sure you soak up that sunshine as much as you can. Change it up at night, dim the lights and avoid looking at smart phones or computer screens.
• Make changes to your nighttime routine.Apparently during Daylight Savings it’s harder to fall asleep. Late night workouts, meals and caffeine can throw off your sleep schedule.

You can find out how much sleep you  need by visiting the National Sleep Foundations website and check out the rest of the list at AJC.com.

Also, don’t forget to daylight savings time is the perfect time to change the batteries in your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detectors.