2024 Spring Daylight Savings 🌷

It’s here again! Spring Daylight Savings 2024

We are shifting forward = losing an hour.

I’ll tell you right now, I am pro- getting rid of daylight savings.

It was put in place to make humans more productive because

we all know that once the sun goes down, the day is over and

it’s time to wind down. 

GUESS WHAT?!

☀️ Our bodies want it that way!

We should be waking with the sunrise and sleeping at sunset. 🌙

However, that doesn’t quite track with how we live our lives these days!

(Mostly because of our work schedules. 😒) 

So! That aside, the least we can do is try to mediate the jet-lag

symptoms that are associated with the time change.

This goes for our children and us. 

A time change confuses our circadian system, our internal clock,

and so getting back on track afterwards can be a pain, but the

strategies I list below can curb some of that!

Will something bad happen if you don’t do anything?

Absolutely not.

Will there be lasting negative effects if you don’t do anything?

Nope. 

Will it make things a little easier on your babe? Yes.

Doing things in gradual steps is always a good option instead

of just going cold turkey.

That philosophy definitely applies to getting ready for daylight savings.

Now this method works, because instead of your baby all of

a sudden going to bed 1 hour late and being confused and tired,

they gradually go to bed later and later so they don’t really

notice the difference and BAM, everything is back to normal.

Sunday March 10th 2024, we will be “springing forward” 1 hour (losing one hour),

so here is the game plan…

*I am putting this out early because there are a couple

different options and depending which one you want to do,

you can start a little earlier in the week.*

• Plan #1  “Slow and steady start”

This one is gradual, so you could start this 1 week ahead of time.

If you can’t start for another couple days, no worries this can still be

effective if you start at least by Thursday. The plan is:

-you are simply pushing wake time, naps and bedtimes 10 minutes EARLIER every day.

Very small increments each day until you reach your end-goal schedule

by the last day- so when we move forward 1 hour, the next day’s schedule is no problem :)

How much you move each day will depend on how many nights you give yourself.

Wake windows will stay the same.

If you give yourself the whole week… you move bedtime each night by 10 minutes.

Here is an example:

If you give yourself from Wednesday-Sunday instead, you just bump all these times a little bit earlier each night.

• Plan #2 “Go with the flow”

This option is great for people with older children and allows you

to forget about the time change and just go with the flow of the new times.

This option only works for some families because it requires a certain level

of schedule flexibility throughout the day. Your child will wake up an

hour later and go to bed an hour later. Here is an example:

This option doesn’t work well with families that have younger children.

Babies and toddlers can get those “second winds” if they stay awake past

that sweet spot bedtime between 7-8pm.

So a more gradual option like Plan #1 works great instead.

• Plan #3 “Split the Difference” 

This is a faster version of option #1 if you don’t have all week

to gradually move schedules and only want to work over the weekend!

So Saturday you do your normal schedule, Sunday you wake your babe

half an hour early (it’ll look like half an hour later).

Then if you keep wake windows the same, everything else through

the day shifts, with a half an hour earlier bedtime.

Then the next day, you stick to your old schedule times (even though they are an hour later).

This gives your babe some time to adjust but it’s not as drawn out as option #1.

Okay Ready?!

Again, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t end up doing any of this.

Obviously the jet lag effects don’t last super long, we get used to it and so will your child.

These are just some options if you feel like trying it out.

Message me if you have any questions about any of these options,

I am more than happy to guide you through!

P.S. World Sleep Day is in a couple weeks: 

Friday March 15th!

I am keeping it fairly low key this year and I will be giving away a few gift cards on my Instagram, so make sure you’re following me and you’ll see the announcement.

Best of luck!🧸

Your Paediatric Sleep Consultant,

-Marina 🌿