Tips to avoid losing sleep after clocks fall back this weekend
Ohio - Mercy Health is offering tips to help sleep routines ahead of clocks falling back this weekend.
This weekend marks the end of daylight savings time, and while gaining an extra thought of sleep is often celebrated, the time change can impact sleep patterns and routines.
To help maintain a healthy sleep schedule, Mercy Health has some tips for easing the transition from daylight saving time.
• Adjust your schedule. Start by going to bed 15 minutes later a few days before the time change. Avoiding screens and dimming lights in the later part of the evening will help by prompting your brain to release melatonin, which initiates a sense of sleepiness.
• Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime ritual. Being exhausted is not the same as being sleepy. Physical exhaustion requires time to relax and unwind, which should be done prior to heading to bed.
• Rise and shine at the same time, even on the weekends. Even though you may not feel like getting up at the same time you would for work or school on a Saturday, a fixed routine helps your body regulate its sleep pattern and get the most out of the hours you sleep. Exposing yourself to as much sunlight as possible during early morning hours also helps.
• Avoid long naps. As luxurious as napping sounds, long naps can dramatically affect the quality of your nighttime sleep. If you need to nap, try limiting it to 15–20 minutes in the late morning or early afternoon.
• Exercise regularly. Even moderate exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes three times a week, can help you sleep better. Just be sure you finish 2–3 hours before bedtime. Exercise raises body temperature which can interfere with falling asleep.
• Watch what you drink and eat before bedtime. Avoid caffeine after 5 p.m. and if you are hungry, eat small snacks, not large meals. And while alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it also disrupts your sleep during the second half of the night.
Mercy Health also suggests that a dark, quiet, cool room is the best for sleep. If you need noise, find an audio-only source to play in the background. Television audio often changes in volume and quality, and the light from the screen can be disruptive. Blue light technology can suppress the body's automatic rise in melatonin that helps us feel drowsy and fall asleep, so it's best to avoid all electronics especially in the last 2 hours before bedtime.
