The End of Daylight Saving Time: 4 Simple Tips to Keep Sleep on Track

It’s almost that time a year again! On Sunday, November 4, our clocks will "fall back" from 2:00am to 1:00am, and most of us will be keeping our fingers and toes crossed that our entire family will benefit from an extra hour of sleep...which sadly will likely not be the case :( Unfortunately most children simply can't stay in bed an hour later on demand (who knew?!), and their little internal clocks just need a little more time to adjust. 

However, the good news is that there are certain steps that can be taken leading up to the new time, depending on your child's current sleep habits and temperament. So here are some tips to help make this transition as smooth as possible.

Tip 1: For late risers waking up 7:00am or later

Great news, as you can just stick with the status quo! Your child's schedule will naturally be shifted by an hour with DST, so if your little one is currently waking up at 7:30am, you'll be looking at a 6:30am wake time once the clocks change. You may be thinking to yourself that this is a little on the early side, but healthy sleep habits actually encourage a morning wake time between 6:00-7:00am for children, so this would be a great way to get your child on an optimal sleep schedule!

Tip 2: For those waking up 6:00-7:00am, who easily adapt to schedule changes

Great news as well, as you don't have anything to do. Although your child may wake up before 6:00am the first morning or two after the clocks change, just continue to follow the new time for naps and bedtime, and your child should be fully adjusted to the new time within a couple of days. 

Tip 3: For those waking up 6:00-7:00am, who are more sensitive to schedule changes 

If your child wakes up between 6:00-7:00am, but tends to be sensitive to schedule changes, then it would be best to gradually shift the sleep schedule before DST. To do so, simply shift forward by 10-15 minutes your child’s morning wake time, nap times and bedtime in the 4-7 days leading up to the time change. Although this shouldn't be too difficult for naps and bedtime, the morning wake time will be the hardest to control - so just do your best. If anything, just try not to respond before the time you wish to get your little one up, and when this happens, be sure to stretch your child's awake time before his or her first nap (or only nap if the morning nap has already been dropped), in order to shift the nap time - even if the wake time didn't change for that day.

Tip 4: For early risers waking up before 6:00am

If you happen to have an early bird on your hands (I feel for you...I’ve been there!), the ideal would be to first try to address the early rising issue before you work on shifting your child's schedule even more in the 4-7 days leading up to the time change. So first, work on getting your little one to sleep until at least 6:00am. Although this isn't always easy, what typically works best is to simply hold off from entering his or her room before this time. If you're uncomfortable with this approach, then briefly respond to your child by offering some reassurance for about a minute, and then quickly exit the room to give him or her a little bit of space uninterrupted to settle. You may need to repeat this a several times depending on how your child responds.

If you’re successful at getting your child to wake up closer to 6:00am at least a week before DST, then simply apply what was previously explained in Tip 3, and shift forward the wake time, nap times, and bedtime by 10-15 minutes each day in the 4-7 days leading up to the time change. If you’re unfortunately not able to get your little one to sleep until close to 7:00am by the time DST rolls around, then simply continue to work on getting him or her to wake up more towards 6:00am, which will at least leave your child's current wake time of 5:00am intact once the time change hits, instead of sticking with the status quo and being left with a 4:00am wake time come November 4...which would certainly not be fun :( 

Regardless of how things turn out, just do your best and trust that things will be back to normal within a few days. Questions? Let’s chat!

Simple tips to help kids adjust to daylight saving time this Sunday

Are your kids already noticing that it’s starting to get brighter out earlier in the morning? We just spent the past few days at the cottage, and without our usual blackout blinds, needless to say that our days started quite early! My son kept telling me that it was time to get up as it was light out :) This of course means that spring is just around the corner, and that it'll soon be time to change our clocks this Sunday, March 11 at 2:00 a.m. Luckily, there’s just enough time remaining this week to take some simple steps to help your little one with this transition.

1. Optimize the sleep environment

As moving the clocks can impact your child’s circadian rhythms (commonly known that their “internal clock”), you’ll want to make sure that their sleep environment is properly set up in order to control their exposure to daylight, external sounds, and even warmer temperatures over the next few months.

Firstly, you’ll want to make sure that the room is as dark as possible. Blocking out all light will allow your child to fall asleep more easily at bedtime when it’s still light out, and will also help to prevent early rising. The main purpose of darkening the room is to help your child naturally produce more melatonin when you put them to bed when it's still light out (and nap time too), which will help to induce drowsiness. 

Early morning sun and warmer temperatures also tend to bring with them more external sounds earlier in the morning especially if windows are open (chirping birds, contractors etc.), so be sure to have some constant (yet subtle!) white noise in place to help drown out these sounds. Finally, warmer temperatures of course means warmer homes, so do your best this summer to keep your child’s room on the cooler side to help them sleep more comfortably. 

2. How to manage your child’s schedule

You’ll need to decide to either gradually shift your child’s schedule in the coming days leading up to the time change, or to just follow the new clock come March 11. 

If your child has an easier temperament and typically adapts well to changes in their schedule, you should be fine to just follow the new clock. It might take a few days for your little one to fully adjust, but by remaining consistent with your schedule and routine, their sleep should be back on track within a matter of days.

If your child is a more sensitive sleeper and doesn’t usually adapt well to schedule changes, then you should consider a gradual approach. This applies particularly if they tend to wake up close to 7:00 a.m. or later. In this case, you can start to shift all sleep periods (morning wake-up, naps and bedtime) as well as activities in the daily routine 15 minutes earlier each day over the next few days leading up to the time change. So, if your child currently awakes at 7:00 a.m., start by waking them up at 6:45 a.m., then 6:30 a.m. so on and so forth, and putting them down 15 minutes earlier throughout the day. After four days or so, their schedule should be an hour earlier, and the time change should be easier to handle. If your child has this kind of temperament but is also an early riser, only shift naps and bedtime, and once the clocks change, and the early rising should hopefully be a thing of the past - as a 5:30 a.m. will soon be 6:30 a.m.!

Tip 3: Keep your child rested

In the days leading up to changing your clocks, keep your family’s schedule low-key and avoid any late nights. This will help to keep them rested, which will allow them to transition to the new time more easily.

Finally, throughout this transition, be sure to stick to your child’s sleep routine and be consistent. Even if things don’t go as planned, just know that their sleep will be back on track in no time!

Daylight Saving Time: 4 tips to help your child easily "fall back"

It’s almost that time a year again! On Sunday, November 5, our clocks will "fall back" from 2:00am to 1:00am, and most of us will be keeping our fingers and toes crossed that our entire family will benefit from an extra hour of sleep...which sadly will likely not be the case :( Unfortunately most children simply can't stay in bed an hour later on demand (who knew?!), and their little internal clocks just need a little more time to adjust. 

However, the good news is that there are certain steps that can be taken leading up to the new time, depending on your child's current sleep habits and temperament. So here are some tips to help make this transition as smooth as possible.

Tip 1: For late risers waking up 7:00am or later

Great news, as you can just stick with the status quo! Your child's schedule will naturally be shifted by an hour with DST, so if your little one is currently waking up at 7:30am, you'll be looking at a 6:30am wake time once the clocks change. You may be thinking to yourself that this is a little on the early side, but healthy sleep habits actually encourage a morning wake time between 6:00-7:00am for children, so this would be a great way to get your child on an optimal sleep schedule!

Tip 2: For those waking up 6:00-7:00am, who easily adapt to schedule changes

Great news as well, as you don't have anything to do. Although your child may wake up before 6:00am the first morning or two after the clocks change, just continue to follow the new time for naps and bedtime, and your child should be fully adjusted to the new time within a couple of days. 

Tip 3: For those waking up 6:00-7:00am, who are more sensitive to schedule changes 

If your child wakes up between 6:00-7:00am, but tends to be sensitive to schedule changes, then it would be best to gradually shift the sleep schedule before DST. To do so, simply shift forward by 10-15 minutes your child’s morning wake time, nap times and bedtime in the 4-7 days leading up to the time change. Although this shouldn't be too difficult for naps and bedtime, the morning wake time will be the hardest to control - so just do your best. If anything, just try not to respond before the time you wish to get your little one up, and when this happens, be sure to stretch your child's awake time before his or her first nap (or only nap if the morning nap has already been dropped), in order to shift the nap time - even if the wake time didn't change for that day.

Tip 4: For early risers waking up before 6:00am

If you happen to have an early bird on your hands (I feel for you, as I've been there!), the ideal would be to first try to address the early rising issue before you work on shifting your child's schedule even more in the 4-7 days leading up to the time change. So first, work on getting your little one to sleep until at least 6:00am. Although this isn't always easy, what typically works best is to simply hold off from entering his or her room before this time. If you're uncomfortable with this approach, then briefly respond to your child by offering some reassurance for about a minute, and then quickly exit the room to give him or her a little bit of space uninterrupted to settle. You may need to repeat this a several times depending on how your child responds.

If you’re successful at getting your child to wake up closer to 6:00am at least a week before DST, then simply apply what was previously explained in Tip 3, and shift forward the wake time, nap times, and bedtime by 10-15 minutes each day in the 4-7 days leading up to the time change. If you’re unfortunately not able to get your little one to sleep until close to 7:00am by the time DST rolls around, then simply continue to work on getting him or her to wake up more towards 6:00am, which will at least leave your child's current wake time of 5:00am intact once the time change hits, instead of sticking with the status quo and being left with a 4:00am wake time come November 5...which would certainly not be fun :( 

Regardless of how things turn out, just do your best and trust that things will be back to normal within a few days. Should you need any additional guidance, feel free to reach out!

Easy Tips to Help your Child with Daylight Saving Time

I don’t know about you, but my kids are already noticing that it’s starting to get brighter out earlier in the morning...and my son was so excited to share this new discovery with us this past weekend (see photo above)! This of course means that longer days are just around the corner, as we’ll be springing forward this Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 a.m. Luckily, there’s just enough time this week to take some simple steps to help your little one with this transition.

1. Optimize the sleep environment

As moving the clocks can impact your child’s circadian rhythms (commonly known that their “internal clock”), you’ll want to make sure that their sleep environment is properly set up in order to control their exposure to daylight, external sounds, and even warmer temperatures over the next few months.

Firstly, you’ll want to make sure that the room is as dark as possible. Blocking out all light will allow your child to fall asleep more easily at bedtime when it’s still light out, and will also help to prevent early rising. The main purpose of darkening the room is to help your child naturally produce more melatonin when you put them to bed when it's still light out (and nap time too), which will help to induce drowsiness. 

Early morning sun and warmer temperatures also tend to bring with them more external sounds earlier in the morning especially if windows are open (chirping birds, contractors etc.), so be sure to have some constant (yet subtle!) white noise in place to help drown out these sounds. Finally, warmer temperatures of course means warmer homes, so do your best this summer to keep your child’s room on the cooler side to help them sleep more comfortably. 

2. How to manage your child’s schedule

You’ll need to decide to either gradually shift your child’s schedule in the coming days leading up to the time change, or to just follow the new clock come March 12. 

If your child has an easier temperament and typically adapts well to changes in their schedule, you should be fine to just follow the new clock. It might take a few days for your little one to fully adjust, but by remaining consistent with your schedule and routine, their sleep should be back on track within a matter of days.

If your child is a more sensitive sleeper and doesn’t usually adapt well to schedule changes, then you should consider a gradual approach. This applies particularly if they tend to wake up close to 7:00 a.m. or later. In this case, you can start to shift all sleep periods (morning wake-up, naps and bedtime) as well as activities in the daily routine 15 minutes earlier each day in the 4-5 days leading up to the time change. So, if your child currently awakes at 7:00 a.m., start by waking them up at 6:45 a.m., then 6:30 a.m. so on and so forth, and putting them down 15 minutes earlier throughout the day. After four days or so, their schedule should be an hour earlier, and the time change should be easier to handle. If your child has this kind of temperament but is also an early riser, only shift naps and bedtime, and once the clocks change, and the early rising should hopefully be a thing of the past - as a 5:30 a.m. will soon be 6:30 a.m.!

Tip 3: Keep your child rested

In the days leading up to changing your clocks, keep your family’s schedule low-key and avoid any late nights. This will help to keep them rested, which will allow them to transition to the new time more easily.

Finally, throughout this transition, be sure to stick to your child’s sleep routine and be consistent. Even if things don’t go as planned, just know that their sleep will be back on track in no time!

Resources for you

Looking to read up on your little one's sleep? If so, add this page to your favourites (sleep articles I like) and check back every now and then. I'm always on the lookout for interesting articles and I'm happy to try to help you take some of the mystery out of your little's ones sleep!