If you are struggling with sleep, the end of the daylight savings can be a chance to get on top.
Experts say that the bells return this Sunday at 3 o’clock in most states for an hour, good news for the tired among us.
“It is a great opportunity to get a lead over a sleeping schedule,” says Elise McGlashan of the John Trinder Sleep Laboratory of the University of Melbourne.
“It can be difficult to shift other times of the year earlier, even if we wanted to.”
And she says that shorter days in the cooler months can create ideal conditions for healthier sleeping habits.
Using the end of the daylight to get more rest
When we try an earlier bedtime, we may have trouble floating away, Dr. McGlashan.
That’s because we are fighting our circadian rhythm or internal body clock.
“Our body clock plays a major role in determining when we feel tired and … the quality of sleep at night.”
Turning back the clocks for an hour can help, she says.
“If you want to make more time to sleep or move a sleeping schedule early, the end of the daylight saving is a good biological lead.”
We can sleep an extra hour that night, but the next evening also says Dr. McGlashan that it is possible that we will be tired and ready to sleep at 10 p.m. instead of 11 p.m., for example.
Sleep scientist and science communicator with Central Queensland University, Vanessa Hill, says that if you are planning to have the same bedtime and wake -up time as during daylight saving, to gradually shift it during the course of a week.
She says the switch is a chance to do a “sleep health control”.
“Take a moment to think about how your sleep has been – how do you feel during the day? Are you tired? Are there moments when you may feel a nap?”
If you are not as energetic as you want, she proposes to make changes, such as maintaining a more consistent sleep schedule and shortening the technical time in bed where you can.
Shorter days a chance of earlier bed times
Shortening the technical time in bed can help with sleep. ((Pexels))
Less daylight is often considered bad news for sleeping patterns, but that is not always the case, says Dr. McGlashan.
“Certainly in countries with extreme variations that can be true, but in the summer in Australia, for some of us – especially those who do daylight savings – the sun cannot undergo under 9 p.m.
“For many people, and especially children, we not only get more clear day hours, we also have a lot of bright light in the run -up to going to sleep.”
That can be confusing for our internal body clock.
Dr. McGlashan says that the end of the daylight saving time, and the sun that previously undergoes in cooler months, means that it is easier to create a poorly lit environment for the evening.
And despite the shorter days and often cloudy atmosphere in places such as Victoria and Tasmania, Dr. McGlashan that we had to go outside to regulate our circadian rhythm.
“Sunlight is much brighter even on very cloudy days than you will reach with interior lighting.
“How it will influence your body clock and mood, it is more than enough.”
Mrs. Hill says that a morning walk is a great way to get some natural light, but even drinking your coffee at a window can be useful.
She says that a cooler bedroom is a different advantage of the winter, because it can make it easier to fall asleep.
A healthy routine before bedtime
For improved sleep more in general, Dr. McGlashan that it is important to have a good routine before bedtime.
That may be that doing things that help us close and relax, such as reading a book and dark, keeping calm and a space in which we feel comfortable.
“Avoid things such as work or homework until you go to bed – or other things that can be stressful and require your brain to really be switched on.”
Mrs. Hill says that it goes to bed and wakes up every day at the same time to do – as much as we can.
“People tend to go to bed late at the weekend and have a completely different bed times during the week.
“That can ensure that some people ‘social jet lag’.”
Dr. McGlashan says that “our body clock shifts” during the weekend, days off and vacation, that we will spend the coming days or weeks overtaking “sleeping debt”.
Strictly being on ourselves can be the key to close the recommended seven to nine o’clock every night.
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