Spring is almost here! It’s time to push our clocks forward one hour.

Sunday, March 8 at 2 a.m., marks the start of daylight saving time (DST), where we as a nation—minus Arizona and Hawaii— push the clocks ahead by one hour.

Daylight saving time is supposed to save energy and enable us to take advantage of the daylight hours. A more practical reason to acknowledge daylight saving time is it also provides the perfect opportunity for safety checks, such as changing the batteries in your smoke alarms!

There is often mixed emotions about “springing forward”. Yes, it means spring is closer and we will have more daylight in the evening. However, the worst part is that we lose one precious hour of sleep.

Here’s what you can do to try and beat the Monday slumps after the time change.

Adjust Your Bedtime

Get to bed early! By getting to bed 15-20 minutes early the next few nights can help you recover from the hour of lost sleep. This will provide a smooth transition to the time change rather than an abrupt one. You’ll also have to wake up 15-20 minutes earlier. It won’t be as effective if you sleep in!

Don’t Load Up on Caffeine

For most, the first thing we grab in the morning is a cup of coffee to get our day going. Other’s might grab a soda later on in the day to help power through. It’s okay to continue your normal caffeine habits, but don’t reach for the extra cup! It’s a great quick fix at the time but, that extra cup could leave you laying awake in bed. The extra caffeine will most likely end up disrupting your sleep pattern even more! Be sure to not have any caffeine 4 hours before time (if not longer).

Don’t Sleep In

If you’re not a parent, you’ll probably have the opportunity to sleep in on Sunday. Don’t do it, it’s a trap! Do your best to wake up early on Sunday, this will help your body get adjusted to the time change. If you need to take a quick cat nap later in the day, that’s okay to do. By waking up early, this will help your body be ready for bed at an appropriate hour on Sunday night.

What About the Kids?

If you have kids, DST is a completely different story. They don’t care if the clocks spring forward, fall back or stop all together. They will get up when they want to get up!

• To help them make the transition, don’t allow any electronics an hour before bed. Find a book to read or a relaxing toy to play with before bed time.
• If you’re worried about getting the kids up for school on Monday, get everything prepared ahead of time! This will make your Monday morning just a little bit easier.
• Try to avoid a nap for your older children (or don’t let your little ones nap too long). By skipping the nap, this will ensure they are tired and ready for bed. Hopefully, they’ll want to get into bed a little earlier than normal so they can wake up at an appropriate time in the morning.

Hopefully, with these tips springing forward will be a little bit easier for the whole family. Just remember, pushing the clocks forward an hour means we are one step closer to warm weather!

Image Source: Freepik