How Does the End of Daylight Savings Affect Sleep?

A change in season can always be disruptive. As the weather gets cooler it can have an effect on our emotions, daily routine and of course, our sleep routine. With Autumn having started in Australia at the beginning of this month, we still have warm, sunny days but they are accompanied by cooler nights. The air is crisp but not too cold and for much of the country, the days will start to get a bit shorter.  On Sunday 4^th of April, 2021 Daylight Savings Time will end in the Victoria, the ACT, New South Wales and South Australia. This means that our clocks will go backwards one hour so that it starts to get darker earlier and is lighter in the morning. Although it may take up to a week to adjust our sleep schedules at the beginning of Daylight Savings (in October), setting the clocks backward is often much easier to adapt to and may even help us sleep better.

Autumn is, in our opinion, the season for sleeping and with a few weeks left until our clocks reset now is the time to set your Autumn sleep routine. Having a regular routine is essential year round, however making adjustments throughout the year is definitely beneficial. For example, during the warmer / Summer months it is much harder to get yourself ready for bed when the sun is still shining. Though, come April 4^th, this will no longer be a problem and you will find it hard to resist crawling into bed. The cooler nights also create the ideal sleep environment for you to snuggle down and get cosy. Whilst you still can, we recommend sleeping with the windows open to allow air to circulate, regulate your body temperature and let you settle into a deep and restful sleep.

Embracing the shorter days is one of the key parts of an Autumn sleep routine. Getting to bed earlier means adults can reach 7-9 hours of recommended sleep and also make the most of the morning sunshine. Exercise and Vitamin D are essential to our overall health. Opening your curtains or getting outside in the morning sunlight is more important than you realise in order to achieve a good night’s sleep. Once Daylight Savings is over it certainly gets harder for some people to see the sun. We spend the majority of our days at work and by the time we get home it may already be dark. Rug up in the mornings, get your body moving outside and enjoy what sunlight you can. Remembering to always practice sun safety! The Cancer Council Australia has some great advice on how to boost your Vitamin D intake whilst ensuring you are both sun smart and safe.

Although it’s certainly easier to adjust to the end of Daylight Savings, Sleep Health Foundation has helpfully provided the following tips to help us prepare;

1. Make the bedroom as bright as possible when you first wake up in the morning.
2. Eat a good breakfast.
3. Go outside in the sunlight in the early mornings.
4. Exercise outside in the mornings.
5. Try to get between seven to nine hours sleep each night.
6. Don’t drink coffee, tea or other caffeine drinks in the evening, avoid smoking just before bed or during the night.
7. Don’t go to bed hungry or too soon after eating a large meal.

If you’re wondering what you can do to prepare in October when Daylight Savings begins again, they have recommended going to bed 15-20 minutes earlier for 4 days before the clocks move forwards and also setting your alarm 30 minutes earlier on the weekend mornings in preparation.

We will of course have a September blog to highlight all the ways the start of Daylight Savings times impacts our sleeping patterns too.

We’d love to hear from you! Leave your comments and reviews here, on our Instagram or Facebook. Make sure you get in contact with any questions OR suggestions for future blogs. Here at Easy Rest we know how important it is to get a good nights’ sleep and can’t wait to give you more tips and tricks on how to achieve it!