Daylight saving time: why light is so important to sleep

The clocks are going back soon to make the most of the daylight as we head into the dreary Winter months. The good news is that this means an extra hour in bed for most of us – on the other hand, the clock change signifies the onset of dark morning commutes and evenings closing in earlier.

For many of us in the UK, the shorter days can not only have an effect on our mood; light and darkness also has a significant impact on our sleep, with less hours of sunlight often leaving us with less energy. But there are things you can do to help keep your energy levels up while the sun is down.

When do the clocks change?

In the UK this Autumn, the clocks will turn back by one hour at 2am on Sunday 27th October 2024.

If you’re ever unsure when the clocks will be going back or forward in the UK, it’s good to remember that they always go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October.

Why do we have daylight saving time?

According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, the idea originally came from Benjamin Franklin, but it was only being seriously considered after British man William Willet wrote a pamphlet called “The Waste of Daylight” in 1907, complaining that people were wasting summer mornings sleeping when the sun was already up. [1]

In 1916, Germany adopted the practice of adjusting the clocks, which was soon followed by many European countries including the UK. Except for a stint between 1968 and 1971, in which the UK experimented with bringing the clocks forward and not putting them back, Daylight Saving times have stayed in place.

Can daylight savings affect your sleep?

For many, moving the clocks forward in Spring has a more significant impact on our sleep, as we lose out on an hour of sleep we’d usually have. However, according to Harvard Medical School, many people don’t actually benefit from the extra hour we get when the clocks are moved back in Autumn.[2] You may find yourself waking up at your usual time which is now an hour behind the clock, with a longer day ahead. Even if you do get that extra hour of sleep, you may struggle to fall asleep in the evening and be more likely to wake up during the night following the clock change, leading to disrupted sleep.

How to adjust to daylight savings time

Whatever you do, the chances are that you’ll feel a little off-kilter when the clocks go back, even if that just means you’re yawning a bit more in the early evening. But there’s a few things you can do to help readjust to the change in time more quickly.

Create the perfect bedtime environment

The right bedtime environment can not only help you fall asleep, it can also help you stay asleep.

As it gets colder, you may be tempted to pile blankets onto your bed and turn up the thermostat – however, if you do that, you’re more likely to wake up overheating in the middle of the night. According to our sleep specialist Thomas Høegh Reisenhaus, the ideal sleep temperature is 18°C, so try to keep your room around that temperature overnight.

A temperature regulating duvet can be useful if you find yourself feeling cold when you go to sleep but then overheating during the night.

Stick to a routine

So much of getting good sleep is about consistency and routine, which is one of the main reasons that the clock change can throw us off. Generally speaking, going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day – including weekends – can help you get better sleep, and sticking to a routine both before and after the clock change may help make sure you’re consistently getting enough rest.

Get some daylight

The Sleep Foundation identifies light as being one of the most important external factors that help regulate our circadian rhythms which help us feel awake or tired at the appropriate times.[3] As we progress towards winter, the amount of daylight we can get becomes more and more limited.

For this reason, it’s important to take advantage of any chance to go outside during the day, even if it’s not sunny. Leaving the car at home or going for a quick walk on your lunch break can be a great way to not only get some daylight, but also a little bit of exercise which can also help contribute to a better night’s sleep.

Take a short nap – but keep it short!

Harvard Medical School advises a short nap a few times during the week could help get you back on track after the clock change. However, it’s important to make sure it remains a short nap, else you risk feeling groggy when you awake and struggling to sleep properly at night.

Try setting an alarm for 20 to 30 minutes – according to the Sleep Foundation, this is enough time to enter a lighter stage of sleep which can help you feel more alert and is easier to wake from than deeper sleep.[4] A great tip from our sleep specialist Thomas Høegh Reisenhaus is to have a cup of coffee just before the nap, as the effects of caffeine will kick in after approximately 20 minutes so it’ll help you wake up and stay awake after your nap.

How do you handle the clock change? Let us know by getting in touch on Facebook and Instagram.

Sources:

[1]: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/uk-time-british-summer-time-bst-daylight-saving

[2]: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/daylight-saving-time-fall-back-doesnt-equal-sleep-gain-201311012514

[3]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/bedroom-environment/light-and-sleep

[4]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/napping.