Are you ready for the clocks to spring forward on 25 March? That’s right, we’re all going to be losing an hour’s sleep, which, if you are like most of us who struggle with Monday mornings anyway, losing an extra hour of sleep is not good news.
Don’t fret, here are three simple actions you can take to step into the week with a spring in your step.
So, how can you adjust to having one hour less sleep and not miss it at all? The lost hour can hit hard in an already sleep deprived 24/7 busy lifestyle, but sleep expert and founder of thesleepsite.co.uk, Dave Gibson, says the key is to make yourself tired earlier.
“The key is to ease yourself through the clocks change using this simple three-step time increment routine, so you wake up, full adjusted, in the new time zone on Sunday morning.
Thursday
Stop all caffeine by Thursday afternoon, this restriction will allow you to sleep better that evening and set up a more relaxed start to Friday.
Friday
Go without caffeine all day. This will make it easier to get to sleep ½ an hour earlier on Friday evening. Valerian, a herb which is proven to help make you feel tired in either T-Bag, Tincture, or capsule form, will also help. Take it about 30-45 minutes before your planned bedtime. Or take Camomile tea as a substitute.
Saturday
You have now adjusted to a time zone that is ½ hour earlier than your norm. You should adjust all your meals ½ hour earlier, too. Throughout the day, try adding pro-biotics or eating natural yoghurt that contains them. Pro-biotics are proven to help those with sleep problems to get a better night’s sleep by promoting healthy gut flora. Saturday evening, shift your bedtime another ½ hour earlier. This means you are now one whole hour forward. Again, take Valerian to make yourself sleepier or if you can’t because of medical reasons then try taking a warm bath with Lavender or use drops on your pillow. Also try a short meditation before bed.
“On Sunday morning you will wake up refreshed, as you will be in the new time zone without losing any sleep. All your meal times will also naturally fall into place, and you have no need to worry about whether you can manage to get to bed on time Sunday night as you will already be in sync with British Summer Time. So, you’ll be well prepared and ready to get to work feeling refreshed on Monday.”
You can use this method to adjust to a new sleep regime at any time. Ultimately, you want to be able to wake up feeling refreshed every day without the use of an alarm. When you can ditch the alarm clock and still be alert and focused throughout the day, is when you know you are getting enough sleep.