Ergh…it's daylight savings time again. That little hour difference can leave you days of feeling wonky and zombified. The good news is a few small adjustments made in your sleep routine before it hits can make a big difference.
💤 How Can Sleep Help Lessen the Effects of Daylight Savings Time?
Sleep is essential to healthy living. It gives you mental sharpness, emotional balance, enhanced performance, and a healthier brain and body. This is why rest is one of Madefor's key focus areas – check out more about it here.
By getting better sleep starting today, you can not only sail through daylight savings with ease but also build good sleep habits moving forward.
Improve Your Sleep Habits with These 3 Tips:
1️⃣ Sleep Tip #1: Get more morning light!
You may be surprised that one of the best things you can do to get better sleep starts with morning light. According to Dr. Samer Hattar, Chronobiologist at National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Advisor at Madefor, "Once you start viewing sunlight in the morning on a regular basis, you not only start to sleep better, you also feel more alert and focused at regular times of the day."
Before daylight savings time hits, start spending at least 15 minutes a day in sunlight, morning light specifically whenever possible. Morning sunlight is the best way to set your internal clocks to the rhythms of your environment and set your body up for better sleep at night. (Don't forget the sunscreen!)
2️⃣ Sleep Tip #2: Adjust your eating and exercise schedule to the morning hours.
To help program your body’s internal sleep clock to make the shift to daylight savings time easier, consider shifting your exercise schedule and last meal to earlier in the day especially if you find yourself groggy in the mornings or unable to fall asleep easily at night. This causes cortisol production to slow down sooner, and paired with the absence of natural light, kicks off the internal sleep drive and hormones adenosine and melatonin to rise, helping to bring about sleep.
3️⃣ Sleep Tip #3: Turn the lights down low.
All forms of light exposure should be decreased as you get closer to bedtime. Here are some actions you can take this week:
– Decrease all types of light exposure as much as possible in the hours leading up to sleep.
– Put all your screens away and settle into a good book or other relaxing activity one to two hours before hitting the sheets. The blue light from devices suppresses melatonin release in your brain, delaying sleep onset and disrupting your circadian rhythms.
– Take it one step further and decrease the light coming in while you sleep. Block out blinking lights from electronic devices and outside street lights by using a sleep mask.
For more tips on how to improve your sleep hygiene to get better sleep, watch Dr. Andrew Huberman's YouTube video with Dr. Samer Hattar on "Timing Light, Food, & Exercise for Better Sleep, Energy & Mood.”