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Coping With Time Changes: Daylight Savings Time

soulsings November 3rd

5 tips to help you reset after the daylight saving time change

Daylight saving time officially ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 3. And while many rejoice over the extra hour of sleep that comes with "falling back," messing with our body clock takes a toll. In fact, the shift in your body's sleep-wake cycle can disrupt your sleep for several days.

Being underslept has a long list of downsides. The evidence has piled up. Without adequate sleep, we set ourselves up for increased risk of anxiety, depression, weight gain, even dementia. So if you're trying to adjust to the time change or are just ready to change your sleeping habits overall, what can you do?

1) Open the blinds, or better yet, go outside! 

Try to start your day with a bath of sunlight. Open the blinds. And if you can, go outside for at least 20 minutes in the early to mid-morning hours. Studies show that daylight exposure in the morning tends to lead to better sleep at night.

2) Give up the afternoon latte. (Yes, really!)

There's a compound found in our bodies and brains called adenosine. Walker calls it "the sleepiness chemical." You want it to build up throughout the day so that you're ready to sleep when your head hits the pillow. But caffeine can latch onto the receptors for adenosine. "Caffeine comes into your system, and it hits the mute button on the adenosine signal of sleepiness, so it wakes you up,"


3) Move your body and get tired.

Exercise may help promote good sleep in two ways. Physical activity is known to reduce anxiety, so this alone may contribute to good sleep. In addition, exercise can physically tire you out. A lot of studies demonstrate the link between physical activity and improved sleep. 

4) Limit your evening alcohol intake. [and other intoxicants]

alcohol can block or interfere with deep sleep, making our sleep more fragmented. There's a lot of research showing alcohol's bad effects on sleep. After a night of drinking, REM sleep — the stage of sleep in which you dream more — tends to be suppressed. This may be especially true during the first part of the night, when there's still alcohol in the bloodstream.

5) Make your bedroom a screen-free, peaceful refuge.

Lots of us are tethered to our devices. But these electronics can expose us to a type of light known as blue light. And when we bring our devices into bed with us, it can interfere with sleep. How? The blue light can prevent or slow down the release of the sleep hormone melatonin — that's the hormone that signals to our brain that it's time to start dozing off.

So really try (and we mean this!) to read from an old-fashioned book or paper magazine at bedtime.

Excerpts of this article from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/20/705224359/do-this-today-to-sleep-well-tonight

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Tinywhisper11 November 3rd

@soulsings great tips ❤ thanks soul ❤❤ in UK our clocks have already gone back, I think last week. 

1 reply
soulsings OP November 3rd

@tinywhisper11 yes you are correct.

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Great tips🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌


I love this time of the year and the extra hour!! Tomorrow visiting my son Jack at university taking him to lunch. I realize I got an extra hour of sleep 💤!! Nice !!

1 reply
soulsings OP November 3rd

Yay more sleep

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Wallis November 3rd

@soulsings

I really like the idea of a screen-free bedroom. I think it is time to clean up my study and put all device there instead of my bedroom. Great idea!

CyclingThroughLife November 3rd

Thanks for sharing this.  I struggle every year resetting my internal clock. 

1 reply
soulsings OP November 3rd

Me too I found these helpful

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SparkyGizmo November 5th

@soulsings

Hi Smooth Soul! 😊 ❤️


Many thanks for this informative forum post! It's so incredibly well written! 


*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

1 reply
soulsings OP November 5th

@SparkyGizmo thank you so much. Hugs

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WorkingitThrough2 November 7th

@soulsings

Yes, readjusting is pretty much ok with me, my biggest mental conflict with the time change is that nights last longer and I get reactive about night time and I usually stay awake till I see the daylight breaking through it is a phobia of mine.

1 reply
soulsings OP November 7th

That means you are a night owl. how rough is that?

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dhabib November 7th

@soulsings I been there it’s painful for me I don’t sleep I don’t rest I been loaded  overwhelmed a lot of things I was in the hospital recently 

1 reply
soulsings OP November 8th

@dhabib sorry you were in the hospital - hopeyou are feeling beeter. 

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calmMango9611 November 9th

@soulsings Thank you for the tips and for your time.

5 replies
soulsings OP November 9th

@calmmango9611 oh that is so sad my condolences for your losses.


With my dad, I use anniversaries to remember with gratitude all he did for me.

4 replies
calmMango9611 November 9th

@soulsings Thank you, my friend. You are such a supportive person. You truly are. I am sorry for your loss. I truly am. I am glad, you're grateful for the time, you had with your dad. It sounds like he was a wise soul. I hope you hang on to the memories of your dad and the times you shared.

I am also grateful for the times, I shared with my departed loved ones.

May they all rest in peace.

3 replies
soulsings OP November 9th

@calmMango9611 thank you for your kind words. 

Now the next generation is moving into the driver's seat. I hope they are well prepared to meet the challenges we all face. 

2 replies
calmMango9611 November 9th

@soulsings I hope so to, my friend. Time will tell. Uncertain times ahead.

1 reply
soulsings OP November 9th

@calmMango9611 yes for sure. Gratitude for your past is a way to cope.

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@soulsings
i agree! thanks for the tips :)