4 Tips to Help Your Kids Adjust to the Time Change This Sunday

Well Rested Baby Sleep Tip: Day Light Savings Time

The Fall component of Day Light Savings Time is quickly approaching. Our “fall back” to standard time will take place on Sunday, November 2rd. For those among us with no kids or older kids this signifies a bonus one hour of sleep (lucky them)! For the rest of us, the extra hour may mean our days are about to begin even earlier. If your child was waking every morning at 6am pre-time change, their biological clock will now have them waking at 5am (horror)! So what can you do to help your child adjust their biological clock and prevent these early morning wake-ups? Here are some tips to get through the time change with minimal sleep loss:

· Aid in Adjusting their Circadian Rhythms

We all have internal biological clocks called circadian rhythms that are genetically controlled. These clocks create an internal timing mechanism for sleep. They evolved from dark (night)/light (day) cues. Sleeping in sync with these rhythms will produce the most restorative and best quality sleep possible. When we physically shift our time clocks, our body does not immediately know that this change has occurred. Older children and adults easily adjust to this change over several days as going to bed an hour later will not result in us becoming unbearably overtired, but a baby or young toddler whose clock is more sensitive will be a bit out of whack. A great way to help accelerate your little ones adjustment to the new time is to regulate their light exposure. As we now want them sleeping later into the morning and staying up later at night, we want to provide extra “darkness” in the morning and extra “light” in the late afternoon and evening. About a week prior to the shift and for a few days once it has actually taken place, try to keep your home dim for an extra 30-60 minutes in the morning while you go about your routine. Keep the lights off or very low and the shades only partially open. In the afternoon, get your child out and expose them to as much natural light as possible. In the evening, make sure you have your home lit with bright artificial light. These simple modifications will help your child adjust more quickly.

· For Older Children or Those who Adapt Easily to Schedule Changes

Your best bet is to switch everything (wake-time, nap, bedtime, meals, etc.) to the new clock “cold turkey.” Start Sunday morning by trying to keep your child in their bed until as close to their usual wake-up time as possible. Move out naptime by an hour to its usual time on the clock and do the same for bedtime. Make sure you are consistent and move out all other daily cues by an hour (like meal times and bath time etc.) so you child is still able to follow these events and understand what is coming next. Children thrive on following schedules and social cues - so moving everything consistently will greatly assist them in adjusting.

· For Babies or Those Who are Not Very Adaptable to Schedule Change

If your child is a bit more challenged by change or is napping multiple times during the day (or you are concerned that moving to the new time “cold turkey” will be too stressful for both of you), make the move gradually in daily increments of 15 minutes. For example, the first day you will adjust all naps, meals, and bedtime to be 15 minutes later than usual. On day two you will add another 15 minutes, making all of these events 30 minutes later than usual. You will continue this in 15-minute increments until you have moved everything by one hour – to the appropriate new clock time. This will help your child ease into the time change more smoothly. Again, remember that we are not just changing sleep times, but moving all cues (meals, bath etc.) in the same increments so that your child has an easier time following what comes next. Over a week or so you will see that your child has adjusted and is waking and functioning at the new times.

· It’s Ok To Leave Them Be

If your child is waking at 5am despite your valiant efforts – your best bet is to leave him be until it reaches his old “wake-up time.” Encouraging your child to sleep in a bit later will not only help mom and dad to get the sleep that they need, but will also better for your little one’s body. A baby or young child’s circadian clock is set to wake each day is sometime between 6-7am. If your child is waking prior to 6am and you are going to them to start their day, you are unknowingly reinforcing the early waking and resetting their clock to wake at that time. This is exactly the result you don’t want. Instead, we want to tell his body that it is still time to be asleep. To do this, you will need to leave your child in his bed until it reaches 6am. At 6am you will promptly enter his room, open the curtains and cheerfully announce that it is time to start their day. This will act as a cue that it is now time to be awake and reinforce that this is the correct hour to be waking. Your child may fuss or protest the first day or two, but you will see that after just a few days his wake-up time will become later. And when a child is waking at the correct biological time, he will likely be happier and better prepared for the day ahead – as will mom and dad!

The Tip Take-Away:

However you decide to handle Daylight Savings, try to be patient with yourself and your child and keep in mind that it will take some time for your child’s sleep schedule to regularize. As with anything to do with our children’s sleep, the key to success is consistency.

Amy Lage is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Family Sleep Institute certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant. She is founder of Well Rested Baby (www.wellrestedbaby.com). She offers a host of services including in person, phone, email and Skype/FaceTime consultations that can be tailored to meet any family’s needs and schedule. Please email her at amy@wellrestedbaby.com with any questions. Be sure to follow WRB on Facebook too more great sleep tips!