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| Daylight Saving Time - Clock Shock and Sleep Loss |
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Daylight Saving Time begins March 13 when we "spring forward" and move our clocks ahead on hour, signaling for many of us the end of winter and wistful thoughts of an approaching summer. Are you ready? More specifically, is your sleep ready? We all love the fall when we "fall behind" to set the clocks back and gain an extra hour in our day (but how many of us really use it to get an extra hour of sleep?) But the one thing you can't avoid this weekend is the actual loss of an hour in the day, and for most of us, it does mean the actual loss of an hour of precious sleep time, and an interruption in our body's natural biological rhythm.
According to many studies, more traffic accidents and work related injuries occur on the Monday after Daylights Saving Time begins - any existing sleep deprivation is even more acute with the loss of a regular hour of opportunity for sleep. Our bodies are naturally programmed to sleep on based on a internal clock, and that clock will be disrupted this weekend when we change the time, and create that 23 hour day.So what can you do to ease the "clock shock" on your body and make the transition leading up to the lost hour just a little easier?
Check out this month's Sleep Tips for some help!
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| In this issue |
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Spring Break! Kids, Travel and Jet Lag
Sleep Disorder Highlight: Insufficient Sleep Syndrome
Sleep Tip of the Month: Time Change Sleep Tips
The Dr. Breus Bed Owner's Corner
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| In the Media |
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| Spring Break! Kids, Travel and Jet Lag |
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It's Spring Break! Have you thought about what will happen when the kids go back to school?
We have all done this, on almost every vacation. We are with family, friends, or at some great destination and the bedtimes are not consistent, we all stay up late and sleep late, and when the Sunday before school starts, it is never pleasant! What can a sleepy parent do to get their not-so-sleepy child to bed the night before school starts? Here are a few things to think about:
1) Make sure to have an outside activity on the Saturday and Sunday before school starts-you want your child to get lots of sunlight, to help re-set their clock.
2) Make their favorite breakfast on Sunday at their normal school breakfast time, so they get up and get used to getting up again.
3) Try to avoid another late night by returning home from your vacation on Saturday NOT Sunday, to start re-setting their schedule.
4) Do not go out to dinner on that Saturday or Sunday, but eat a quiet meal at home, and promote quiet leisure activities, like reading, or a game night (but remember to try to start moving their bedtime to within 30 minutes of their “normal” bedtime, so there is not such a shock to their system).
If you think you have never experienced jet lag, then you may not realize it, but you have! We all do, at least 2 times per year, when the time changes:
• Spring forward- like when you fly east and lose an hour
• Fall backward-like when you fly west and gain an hour
Jet lag is when your body clock and your time zone are not in sync. The good news is that it generally takes your body 1 day per time zone to adjust, but with kids ( especially little ones) this may stretch into 2 - 3 days. So keep this in mind, too, when planning for Spring Break and getting back into a school and bedtime routine.
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| Sleep Disorder Highlight: Insufficient Sleep Syndrome |
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Insufficient Sleep Syndrome-officially called Behaviorally Induced Insufficient Sleep Syndrome is a common situation where an individual persistently does not get the amount of sleep that they require to wake feeling rested and alert. Here someone voluntarily engages in significant sleep deprivation. They are able to fall asleep and stay asleep, they just do not seem to get enough sleep. There are no medical reasons for their sleep deprivation. In many cases they will even know how much sleep that they require, but still do not “find the time” to get it. People with Insufficient Sleep Syndrome:
- Complain of excessive sleepiness during the day
- Kids start to have behavioral problems in school
- The amount of sleep that they do get is well below what would be normal for their age
- Will sleep longer to “catch up” on the weekends, or vacations
- Tend to fall asleep very quickly-before their head hits the pillow
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| Sleep Tip of the Month: Time Change Sleep Tips |
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So what can you do to ease the "cloci shock" on your body and make the transition leading up to the lost hour from the transition to Day Light Saving Time just a little easier?
Starting Tuesday and Wednesday, go to bed 15 minutes earlier than your usual bed time.
On Wednesday and Friday, go to bed 30 minutes earlier than your usual bed time.
On Saturday (this one can be difficult!), go to bed 45 minutes earlier than your usual bed time.
Eliminate caffeine before 1:30 p.m. all week.
Avoid alcohol on the weekend of the time change.
Keep up your exercise routine this week, it can help with the quality of your sleep!
Try and get some sunlight first thing in the morning wthen you wake up on Sunday and Monday, to help reset your body clock.
It can be tough to implement, but worth it for the few days leading up to the time change. You won't feel the "clock shock" nearly as much - but you could feel refreshed and ready to go!
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| The Dr. Breus Bed Owner’s Corner |
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Thank you to Marsha and Janet, some of our friends on Facebook, for allowing us to share some of their comments as Dr. Breus Bed owners from our Facebook community.
" I purchased a high profile bed. This king bed has become one of my biggest pleasures - in my bed, piled with books & cats, I'm a " happy camper." I LOVE my new Dr. Breus pillowtop bed! I DO get out of bed in the early moring, but I don't want to.!!" - Marsha K., Baltimore, MD
"We do very much love our Dr. Breus bed that we received from the Dr. Oz show! Dr. Breus, I took your advice and MAKE myself not look at a clock when I wake in the middle of the night for bathroom, etc. Not knowing what time it is makes me more relaxed when I come back to bed, but it's very hard not to peek at any clock!" - Janet C. - New York area
Please visit www.facebook.com/thesleepdoctor and join the conversation!
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Read his column in WebMD, The Magazine
in your doctor’s waiting room.
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