Falling Back an Hour: How to manage the time change
If you're from provinces and states that have Daylight Saving Time, November 1st 2020 is when Daylight Saving Time ends and we turn back the clocks an hour.
Before having kids this was terrific! It was like this extra gift of an hour. With kids, however, we realize just how made up this time change is --our kids work on circadian rhythm and biology, and we work a lot from the clock on our wall. It can make the transition a bit tricky.
Here are some perspectives and tips on managing the time change. (And if you don’t have time to read, you can listen/watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V0s1fq9Ncs).
Morning glory
For those with 'by the clock' routines (work schedules, daycare drop offs, appointments, evening activities), the fall time change makes the morning pace a leisurely one. Unlike the spring, where we lose an hour and may find ourselves waking up "on the new time" feeling groggy and sleep-deprived, and feeling rushed or "behind" for a few days, "fall back" can mean extra time to prepare for the day, get everyone dressed and ready, breakfasts eaten, and lunches made. Afterall, our circadian rhythms are waking us up as usual, but the clock gives us that extra hour to enjoy the morning.
Enjoy the leisurely pace. Add in some play or reading time that you usually don't have time for. Fit in a morning walk before heading to preschool. Or use some of that time to catch up on dishwashing (I know I'm not the only one who finds that rewarding. Right?)
Bedtime woes
Unlike the morning pace, the challenge may be in the evening when our circadian rhythms are telling us it's bedtime, and yet the clock only reads that it's just past dinner time. If we listen to our bodies we'd go to bed early, but oh how powerful that clock is on our behaviour!
We take our time, bask in the leisure of the extra time (after all, the kids seemed hungry earlier, so we have more time after dinner!). And then we find our children are overtired and have missed their normal sleep time.
So what can we do to smooth over the bumps that come along with this arbitrary human-made clock connundrum? A bit of planning can make the fall back a bit smoother than the spring forward that happens as we emerge from winter.
There are, in my view, three approaches families can take:
Start shifting your routines later in small increments in the week leading up to daylight savings time ending.
Start shifting your routines after changing the clocks.
Do nothing in particular and lean on our natural rhythms to help us adjust.
Depending on what you have going on with your family, one of these may be an obvious fit. But here are some strategies that help strengthen the shift.
Harness the power of zeitgebers
Zeitgebers, aside from simply being a fun word to say, are the natural and human-made cues that support our circadian rhythm. The most powerful zeitgeber is natural light, so get out for a morning walk (it will be lighter earlier), and an evening walk (the darker and cooler evenings will cue sleep as well). Get up with the sun and use the fading light in the evening to support bedtime, regardless of what the clock says.
Mealtime Cues
Other zeitgebers include alarm clocks (if you use one, you're conditioned to wake up when you hear it), and mealtimes --if you have well-established after-dinner bath and bed routines, use dinner time to cue the rest of the evening. Mealtimes in particular are lovely cues because we can manipulate the timing of meals fairly easily. After the clocks have changed, serve meals an hour "early", and gradually shift meals later over the coming week. This means hungry tummies won't have to wait an extra hour for meals, and can adjust slowly.
Little side story: my colleague and her son were visiting her parents during the fall-back time change a number of years ago. She rolled with the change without effort, but wondered why her son was so fussy for the hour leading up to mealtime. When she fed him he was absolutely ravenous! It dawned on her that altough she could handle the delay in mealtime eating without even noticing it, he was feeling like it was an hour over-due!
Slow and steady:
Know that circadian rhythm is natural, and the time on the clock is more arbitrary, and yet both of them are supported by natural light and our personal routines and daily cues. In fact, a study that involved people not having natural light or clocks to support circadian rhythm actually shifted to a longer and longer day, sleeping longer at "night" and staying awake for longer periods in the day. (See here for a recent overview.)
To help keep the circadian clock and your microwave clock in sync for the sake of your fixed plans, you can shift mealtimes, and other moveable routines like walks and visits to the park or play dates a wee bit later at a time. After all, our babies will likely be hunger at a reasonable interval, but this will "seem" to be an hour earlier after we move the clocks back. Set food on the table and do the other routine things that signal a meal just a bit later than usual leading up to the time change, or offer meals and other routines a bit closer to the "old time" if you wait till after the time change to do anything.
Honour sleep time:
By using natural light and routines, everything will be back on track for most families within a week. However, it's important to be aware that babies may roll with the change easier if their tired cues and sleep times are honoured. Don't wait for the clock to say it's bedtime: go to bed close to the biological time they'd normally go. There will be enough cues in their environment to gradually shift this to the new time.
Strategies for late to bed kiddos:
If you have a baby who is a nighthawk, keep on the old time if your wish has been to get baby to bed earlier. Sometimes I've "pretended" the clocks haven't changed at all, since our tendency is to push things later, take longer, and revel in the extra time until we've used it all up and are rushing to get them to bed having used up this opportunity to lean towards an earlier bedtime.
Make a point of starting dinner an hour earlier after the time change, and starting bedtime routines right after that, instead of being lulled by the idea that you've got all this time before babe needs to be in bed.
Strategies for early risers:
If you have a baby who rises early and goes to bed early, the initial few days can mean very very early wake up times. Plan ahead by:
storing up on your sleep (clear your evenings for earlier bedtimes to top up on sleep), and
leveraging the power of environmental cues: even if baby is awake, cue the morning routine (like opening up curtains, turning on lights) a bit later than their used to.
darker mornings and more light in the evenings may help nudge bedtime and wake ups later: access outdoors or play near a sunny window.
I'd love to hear what strategies you find helpful or are planning to implement this year. And know that even if you do nothing in particular at all, the cues we have from the world around us will likely get everyone back on track very soon.