Fall into better sleep with time change
Local doctor recommends adjusting your schedule.
It’s time to “fall back.” Daylight-saving time comes to an end this Sunday, and we need to set our clocks back an hour. Though we don’t think this time change is as bad as when we turn our clocks ahead one hour in the spring, it still interrupts our circadian rhythms, or our internal clock, that follows a daily cycle of sleep and wake times.
Kevin Carter, DO, sleep medicine specialist at Kettering Health Network, recommends adjusting your sleep schedule to accommodate the time change this Sunday.
“The best way to deal with any circadian rhythm interruption is to start moving your sleep schedule prior to the event,” Dr. Carter suggests. “For a one-hour time change, start moving your bedtime by 15 minutes starting four days before.” Easing into the change in time will feel more natural to your body than the stark change of an hour.
Effects on the body
Lack of sleep, or frequently interrupted sleep, contributes to lack of focus, increased mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, and short-term memory loss. Dr. Carter says time changes also contribute to a higher number of vehicle collisions and cardiovascular distress. Make sure you’re taking care of your body and getting adequate rest to stay safe and healthy.
Start sleeping better
If you struggle with the smaller steps toward an earlier snooze, Dr. Carter offers these tips for a healthier sleep:
■ Avoid or limit caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.
■ Avoid large meals before bedtime, and don’t eat anything too spicy or fatty. If you’re accustomed to a before-bed snack, Dr. Carter suggests choosing a small carbohydrate with a bit of protein, such as a banana with peanut butter.
■ Exercising during the day, at the same time every day, will help drive you into sleep faster at night.
■ Limit your daytime napping to 15-20 minutes. Dr. Carter says this will help “take the edge off ” of mid-day sleepiness, but you will avoid sleeping too deeply, which would lead to disruptions in the ability to fall asleep at night.
■ Dim the lights as you approach bedtime. Stay away from electronics and turn off all but the lights necessary for safety to communicate to your body that it’s time to sleep. “As we expose ourselves to light during the day, we’re suppressing melatonin (our natural sleep aid), which helps signal to our circadian rhythm that it’s time for bed,” says Dr. Carter. If you’re set in your ways of streaming your favorite TV show before bed, Dr. Carter suggests trying to sit further away from the television and turning on the “night mode” setting on smartphones and computers. If the noise from the TV is what’s comforting for you, try swapping sounds for relaxing music or white noise.
Kettering Health Network is a faithbased, not-for-profit healthcare system. The network has eight hospitals: Grandview, Kettering, Sycamore, Southview, Greene Memorial, Fort Hamilton, Kettering Behavioral Health and Soin.