I don't know about you, but this feels like the longest week ever, and I am hella excited about being gifted with an extra hour of sleep this weekend when Daylight Saving Time ends. But while it's nice to get that extra sack time, changing your sleep schedule by as little as one hour can throw off your internal body clock, and you're going to need to arm yourself with some ways to cope with fall back come Nov. 4. One of the biggest myths about fall back is that you should stay up an extra hour. Not so Terry Cralle, a registered nurse, certified sleep educator and Better Sleep Council spokesperson, tells Bustle.
"The recommended approach is to go to bed at your normal time and see how much better you feel with extra sleep," Cralle says. Additionally, be gentle with yourself during the transition. "Having a consistent, relaxing, and reproducible bedtime routine will help transition your mind and body from awake to sleep. Try reading a book or coloring to unwind before slumber." If fall back is an annual challenge for you, you're not alone. In fact, millennials are so sleep deprived that a poll from The Tylt found that almost 60 percent of millennials would opt for an extra hour of sleep over an extra hour of pay. Same? Try these other tips to get through the end of Daylight Saving Time like a boss.
1Use Light To Help Your Body Adjust
It's true that many people aren't looking forward to the sun setting earlier, but on the upside this means that it will no longer be dark when you wake up in the morning, and Cralle says a little morning sunlight can go a long way toward boosting your mood. "Get some bright light or sunlight in the morning. Exposure to natural light sets the body clock and helps boost mood and energy," she explains. "Be sure to open the curtains as soon as you wake up and, if possible, go for an a.m. walk. After sunset, do the opposite and dim the indoor lights to get your body back on track."
2Sip Warm Drinks
In old-timey days, warm milk was often touted as a remedy for sleepless nights. Because everything old is new again, this bedtime drink is making a comeback. The National Dairy Council recommends the Instagram-worthy tonic moon milk. Warm milk infused with spices like cinnamon or nutmeg along with herbal supplements such as adaptogens, this drink can actually help ease stress and have a calming effect on your body tto induce sleep.
3Practice Scandinavian Self-Care Routines
As the happiest place on earth — literally — Scandinavians have the whole winter-cozy thing figured out. If you want to avoid the seasonal crankies, consider adopting the Scandinavian practices hygge, engaging in comfy-cozy activities that make you feel happy and content, and lagom, finding the optimal state of balance you need to be happy.
4Make Your Bedroom A Sanctuary
The change of seasons is an ideal time to change up your bedroom. Swap your summer sheets for warm winter blankets, opt for soft soothing bedside lightbulbs, get an oil diffuser that emits seasonal scents like cinnamon and peppermint, and treat yourself to a new pair of PJs that make you feel swaddled in comfort.
5Don't Hit Snooze
While it's enticing to think about getting an extra nine minutes of sleep, hitting the snooze button can actually derail your entire day. Sleep is a cycle, and when your body begins a cycle but isn't able to finish it, you can end up feeling exhausted. This is what happens when you hit snooze. You might feel like you're getting more sleep, but in reality you're setting yourself up for exhaustion, Matthew Walker, professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, explained in an essay for the Daily Mail.
6Get In A Quick Morning Workout
A lot of people feel more sluggish after fall back, and getting in a short morning workout can go a long way toward boosting your mood and your energy levels during the dark days of winter. If you're not big on working out, there's actually a routine you can do in just 10 minutes. The Scientific 7-Minute Workout is a circuit training regimen that wakes you up, tones your body, and because it's so short, it won't leave you filled with dread when you think about doing it.
Even though you get an extra hour of sleep this weekend, fall back can be a total drag. Consider incorporating some of these tips into your post daylight saving routine to make it suck less.
