ANN ARBOR, Mich. – This weekend, it’s time to fall back as daylight saving time ends, giving most people an extra hour of sleep.
Experts say certain age groups should start gradually shifting their sleep schedules on Monday night to adjust better.
“So as we get older, it’s harder to adjust to time changes. For elderly people, it might be better for them to prep for a time change a week in advance, and they can do that by changing their dinner times, making it later by 10 minutes every evening, and then also adjusting their bedtime and wake up time by 10 minutes and making that later every day as well.”
Children and teens respond differently to time changes, says Dr. Mehwish Sajid, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at U of M Health.
“Any time change will really not be noticed by children or toddlers, they will wake up at their natural wake up time based off of their internal clock. And for teenagers, they’re more likely to be affected by time changes. For falling back, they would benefit, because they’re likely going to bed later and could use that extra hour of sleep.”
Sleep experts agree that standard time is much better for health and have advocated eliminating the spring forward time change each year.
Dr. Sajid explains that falling back aligns with the body’s internal clock.
“Light is the most important cue to your internal biological clock, and with standard time, you get light exposure in the morning, and that cues your body up for wakefulness, and then you get less light in the evening, which signals to your body to prepare for rest by producing melatonin. Standard Time, also for the sleep deprived individual, is better because it allows for an opportunity for one extra hour of sleep.”
Pediatricians suggest parents can try gradually adjusting their baby or toddler’s sleep schedule this week by shifting their wake-up time 10 minutes later each day. However, this method works better for some children than others.