7/6/2023 0 Comments I sleep nowMake sure your bedroom promotes sleep as well, Zee added, by minimizing light exposure from the outside with light-blocking shades or curtains. She suggests avoiding bright light for at least three hours before bedtime: “This will allow your own melatonin to rise and promote sleep.” The same rule about light applies to the evening, but in reverse, Zee said. “The likelihood of the child having worse behavioral health outcomes is higher,” she said. If a child is struggling with depression or anxiety, not getting enough restful sleep can have serious consequences. “Get up and get your iPod and listen to some music and get a regular alarm clock.” When it comes to teens, don’t fall for the “I need my phone for an alarm in the morning, and it helps me go to sleep at night,” she said. “We don’t secrete melatonin to help us sleep when we’re staring at light,” Breuner said. “Devices should be off and charging away from the bed, whether it’s in the kitchen or another room besides the bedroom,” she said. This strategy is particularly important for teenagers and night owls, Zee said, and they should do this before and continue after Daylight Saving Time starts to help with adaptation to the new time.īreuner advocates for making a “real hard rule” about keeping television, smartphones, laptops, gaming devices or any other electronic device out of the bedroom. How to get your teens to sleep now that they are back in school “Increase bright light exposure at home, school and work for the rest of the morning.” “Get morning-bright light for 20 to 30 minutes soon after waking up,” Zee said. When light enters your eyes, it’s a signal to the brain to shut down melatonin, the hormone the body makes to put you to sleep. “That just lengthens any adjustment to the time change.”įor everyone in the family, the emerging lightness in the morning is a good thing, experts say. “That way they’re snacking on the bus or in the car versus trying to sit down for a full-on breakfast when everybody’s kind of ‘Whoa, it’s an hour later,’ ” she said.Īnd “do not let kids nap,” she added. It’s also a good idea to pack a to-go breakfast in case everyone is running late. Lay clothes out and pack up homework before bedtime to reduce the stress in the morning. There are other ways parents and caregivers can ease the transition, Breuner said. “In the days following Daylight Saving Time, I try to be more forgiving if my child is having an extra temper tantrum,” he said. If that didn’t happen, expect some grumpiness until your child’s body adjusts, and be prepared to cut them some slack, Dasgupta said. Interactive: Daylight Saving Time: How would permanent DST impact you? Zee, who is also a professor of neurology at Feinberg, agreed: “For most younger children, moving their bedtime and wake time by about 10 to 15 minutes earlier starting three days before the time change can help them adjust to the social clock time change by Monday morning,” she said. Younger children tend to adapt a bit better to time changes than older children and adults, Breuner said, so they may need fewer days to adapt. Make sure you as the parent are getting the rest you need as well, so you’re not overly irritable with your child.” “Sleep is very individualized, and every child will respond differently to the time change. “It’s never too late to start,” Dasgupta said. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.ĭidn’t do that? Don’t despair. Prepping in advance is an especially good plan for teenagers, who are naturally programmed to stay up late and sleep late, and for anyone else in the family who is a night owl, said Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.Īdjust the timing of other daily routines that are time cues for your body as well such as meals, exercise and medications, he added. “Planning for the change can be key to lessening the impact of this change on your body’s circadian rhythms,” said sleep specialist Dr. Residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona and the US territories in the Pacific and Caribbean don’t follow the time change.įor folks who are adjusting their clocks, the body isn’t going to like getting up an hour earlier, so it’s best to start adapting by going to bed and waking up 15 to 20 minutes earlier each day for four or more days before the change, experts say. Cora Collette Breuner, a professor of adolescent medicine in University of Washington’s department of pediatrics in Seattle. “For whatever reason, Daylight Saving Time always just creeps up on us,” said pediatrician Dr. Permanent Daylight Saving Time will hurt our health, experts say A growing number of sleep experts say the act of moving our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time in the spring is ruining our health.
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