How to Shift your Child’s Sleep Schedule around Daylight Saving Time Transitions
As a sleep medicine physician and mother of two, I’m keenly aware of the importance of good sleep to our overall health and wellbeing. Twice a year, when our society engages in the great modern experiment of transitioning into and out of Daylight Saving Time (DST), I implement a plan to make the transition as smooth as possible for my children and myself.
DST changes are not the same as travelling to a different time zone. When we travel to a new time zone the timing of sunrise and sunset times and all activities (including bedtime and wake time) shift relative to our body clock. With DST changes, the timing of sunrise and sunset stay the same relative to our body clock, but all our activities suddenly shift by an hour. The change in relative timing of sunrise and sunset with time zone changes provides a very strong signal to our brain which helps us to adjust to the new schedule relatively quickly. The lack of relative change in sunrise and sunset times with DST makes it harder for our brain to adapt, meaning it takes us longer to adjust to the new schedule.
For families, the abrupt change in the timing of all activities, especially wake and bedtime, around DST can cause problems for both the children and the parents. Children generally have a more robust internal clock than adults. This strong internal clock is why most young children wake up around the same time every day, weekday or weekend. In the fall transition out of DST, a child who was previously waking up at 6:30AM will now naturally wake up at 5:30AM. In all likelihood, this 5:30AM awakening will be earlier than desired for the parent and, without proper planning, the parent will lose an hour of sleep. In the spring, the 6:30AM wake time will become 7:30AM, which may be nice for the parent on Sunday, but come Monday morning the child may need to be woken up early for school, resulting in sleep loss for the child. Shifting a child’s schedule BEFORE the Sunday morning time change can therefore minimize sleep loss for both the parent and child and make for an easier transition on Monday.
Below is my general strategy for relatively seamless shifting in both directions. In addition to shifting the timing of sleep, shifting the timing of bright and dim light exposure can provide additional signals to our internal clock since we cannot change the timing of sunrise and sunset. The change to/from DST occurs overnight between Saturday night and Sunday morning. I recommend starting to shift the child’s schedule on THURSDAY EVENING before the time change and continuing to shift by 15 minutes each day so the child will be on the new schedule by MONDAY morning.
The following schedule is for a child with a typical bedtime of 8:00PM and a wake time of 6:30AM.
Springing Forward (Daylight Saving Time BEGINS):
8:00PM becomes 9:00PM, 6:30AM becomes 7:30AM so you need to shift the child EARLIER by ONE HOUR to prepare
- THURSDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 6:45PM, Bedtime is 7:45 PM
- FRIDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:15 AM, TURN ON BRIGHT LIGHTS ASAP
- FRIDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 6:30PM, Bedtime is 7:30 PM
- SATURDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:00AM, TURN ON BRIGHT LIGHTS ASAP
- SATURDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 6:15PM, Bedtime is 7:15 PM
TIME CHANGE, LOSE ONE HOUR
- SUNDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:45AM, TURN ON BRIGHT LIGHTS ASAP
- SUNDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 7:00PM, Bedtime is 8:00PM
- MONDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:30AM, TURN ON BRIGHT LIGHTS ASAP
Falling Back (Daylight Saving Time ENDS):
8:00PM becomes 7:00PM, 6:30AM becomes 5:30AM so you need to shift the child LATER by ONE HOUR
- THURSDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 7:45PM, Bedtime is 8:15 PM
- FRIDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:45 AM, AVOID BRIGHT LIGHTS UNTIL 7:15AM
- FRIDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 8:00PM, Bedtime is 8:30 PM
- SATURDAY MORNING: Wakeup 7:00AM, AVOID BRIGHT LIGHTS UNTIL 7:30AM
- SATURDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 8:30PM, Bedtime is 8:45 PM
TIME CHANGE, GAIN ONE HOUR
- SUNDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:15AM, AVOID BRIGHT LIGHTS UNTIL 6:45AM
- SUNDAY NIGHT: DIM all lights starting at 7:30PM, Bedtime is 8:00PM
- MONDAY MORNING: Wakeup 6:30AM, AVOID BRIGHT LIGHTS UNTIL 7:00AM
If a child is still napping, try to shift the naps by 15 minutes along with the bedtimes and waketimes.
Meal times should be shifted in 15 minute increments along with the bedtime as much as possible.
I hope the above schedule helps you to achieve a relatively seamless Daylight Saving Time transition for the entire family.
