The change in clocks affects our sleep quality
Turning the clocks forward by an hour may herald the longer, lighter days of Summer but it leaves us with a temporary ‘Spring – lag’, according to the latest findings from the Great British Sleep Survey.
The clock change can disrupt our body clock and so our sleeping pattern, leaving us feeling like we have jet-lag. On average, the quality of our sleep will take a dip of 10% immediately after the clock change – and this could last for up to three weeks as our bodies adjust.
The change in our sleep pattern has a significant impact across our daily lives with 9% more people reporting a negative impact on their relationships, an extra 10% people reporting lower energy and 11% reporting lower productivity as a consequence of poor sleep.
This year, Daylight Saving Time in the UK starts on Sunday March 30th.
The good news is that you can take some simple steps to help re-set your body clock gradually so you feel less of an impact come Sunday morning.
World sleep expert and co-founder of Sleepio, Professor Colin Espie says: “Changing the clocks forces our own internal body clock to re-synch. That can take anything from a few days up to a few weeks and it leaves us feeling more tired throughout the day as our bodies catch up. Once we’ve acclimatised to the new sleep schedule, sleep quality should settle back to normal levels once again. It can help to gradually adjust your bedtime in the week before the clocks change so it’s less of a shock to the system on Sunday morning!”
Three ways to make the clock change easier
Re-set your own body clock
It can help to gradually change your sleep pattern in the week before the clocks change so you’re not doing it all in one go. Over the week, shift the times you go to bed and wake up by just 15 minutes - that’s 15 minutes earlier by the way! So by the time Sunday hits, you’re already there!
Respect the clock on Sunday
Avoid the temptation to lie in on Sunday morning! It’ll make the rest of your week easier if you wake up at your normal time according to the clock… even though you’ll feel like it’s an hour too early!
Make the most of the extra hour!
Natural light helps kickstart your waking proces. So, once you’re awake on Sunday, get out and enjoy as much of the day as you can! This will help you sleep better on Sunday night and hopefully help avoid that jetlag feeling on Monday morning.
Tagged in Health Sleep Sleeping Tips