It’s that time of year again!
Time Change!
Let the groans commence!
But the good news is that spring forward is usually easier than fall back!
Daylight Saving Time (DST) happens Sunday, March 11, 2:00am this year (2018). We will be setting our clocks one hour ahead.
This could potentially help the families with early morning risers!
So if you have a kiddo who wakes at 5am, after Sunday, he will be waking at 6am. Not too shabby!
So, what can you do to prepare?!
Well you can go about it one of three ways…..you can either slowly pre-adjust, slowly post-adjust of go cold turkey.
So if you want to pre-adjust, start now! Just start slowly adjusting your child’s routine by about 15 minutes each day. Then by Sunday you will be ready to go!
If you post-adjust then you will do the same as above, just after the time change happens! Make sure that you not only shift naps and bedtime but also shift eating times as well.
Or you can go cold turkey. So when the time change happens, you would just move right over to the new local time. !
Now matter which method you choose to use, know that it takes about week for everything to shake out!
Our master body clock is set by the sun and changes of light during the day. So our bodies will naturally adjust over the course of a week.
Now the big key to remember during this time of year is to make sure you are nailing the sleep environment.Starting now, it is going to remain lighter for longer and longer. So make sure that you have your child’s room nice and dark! For nights and for naps! This is critical for proper melatonin production. Melatonin is called the “Vampire Hormone” because it only comes out in the dark! So the darker the sleep environment the more Melatonin our body will produce. Look at all the windows and under the door!
Also make sure you have some good white noise because the birds are suddenly up with the sun and can create quite a racket. Or at least they do at my house!
This will help make sure your kiddos is sleeping in an environment that is conducive for sleep!
Happy Spring!