--- title: Daylight Saving Time: 4 Tricks to Make an Easy Switch description: Losing an hour of sleep doesn't have to throw you off. canonical: https://time.com/4252688/daylight-saving-time-2016/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-10T17:00:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:05.722Z article:section: Health og:title: 4 Tricks to Make an Easy Switch to Daylight Saving Time og:description: Losing an hour of sleep doesn't have to throw you off. og:url: https://time.com/4252688/daylight-saving-time-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9870f3c43cbfd8d2/6988604e35ba6f2630c0ec91/sleep-alarm-clock-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1000 og:image:height: 563 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock health sleep alarm clock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 4 Tricks to Make an Easy Switch to Daylight Saving Time twitter:description: Losing an hour of sleep doesn't have to throw you off. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9870f3c43cbfd8d2/6988604e35ba6f2630c0ec91/sleep-alarm-clock-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Tricks to Make an Easy Switch to Daylight Saving Time > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Jon Oliver: Daylight Saving Time [Watch (HLS stream): Jon Oliver: Daylight Saving Time](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rK4e8QSX.m3u8) (0:19)  _Published 2015-03-09. Jon Oliver: Daylight Saving Time_ by [Michael Gollust / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Michael Gollust / Health.com Contributor Mar 10, 2016 5:00 PM UTC  Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME by [Michael Gollust / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Michael Gollust / Health.com Contributor Mar 10, 2016 5:00 PM UTC Warmer temperatures, longer days and the scramble to file your taxes point to one thing: spring is around the corner, and with it, the start of Daylight Saving Time. That means on Sunday, March 13 (at 2 a.m.), it’s time to turn your clocks ahead one hour to “spring forward.” But it pays to be prepared. “Compared to the [fall time change](http://news.health.com/2015/10/23/daylight-savings-time-fall-back/), most people actually have a harder time adjusting when we ‘spring forward,’ because we’re losing an hour of sleep,” explains sleep specialist and clinical psychologist [Michael Breus, PhD](http://thesleepdoctor.com/). Thankfully, though, there a few easy tweaks you can make to your routine to make the segue to DST smooth and easy. **Step back before you spring forward** More than one third of Americans are chronically [sleep deprived](http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “If you’re in this set, it probably won’t be difficult for you to fall asleep at the new time,” Breus says, “but be sure to set your clock ahead before going to sleep on Saturday, March 12.” That way, seeing the lost hour up front will motivate you to go to bed earlier, rather than bumming you out the next morning when you wake up. If you’re not sleep deprived, you can keep yourself on track by drawing back your bedtime gradually this week. “On the Wednesday before the time change, go to bed 15 minutes earlier,” Breus suggests. “On Thursday, go to bed another 15 minutes earlier, and another 15 the next two nights. That means that by Saturday, you’ll be going to bed an hour early and will have an easier adjustment the next morning.” Got kids? They need extra help sticking to [good sleep habits](http://news.health.com/2015/01/29/good-sleep-habits-enforced-rules-help-kids-sleep-study/) since they’re less attuned to the hands on the clock and more to their internal timekeepers. “If they get to stay up until 11pm on Friday night, make it 10pm,” says Breus. “Since they’re losing the hour the next day, they need to go to bed earlier so that on Sunday night, they’ll be set up for a good night’s sleep before school on Monday.” **_Health.com:_**[_The Best and Worst Foods for Sleep_](http://news.health.com/2015/03/03/when-is-daylight-savings-time-2015/?xid=time) **Take stock of sleep habits** This year’s time change coincides with the National Sleep Foundation’s [Sleep Awareness Week](https://sleepfoundation.org/SAW), so it’s a great occasion to give your sleep habits a quick reboot. That means turning off electronic devices at least and hour before bedtime (the [blue light can interfere with slumber](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20905916%5F2,00.html/)), avoiding eating and drinking (particularly caffeine and [alcohol](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20905916%5F11,00.html)) just before bed, and recommitting to a [consistent bedtime ritual](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20462696,00.html) (which may include a warm bath, gentle stretching or [yoga](http://news.health.com/2014/10/15/an-amazing-bedtime-yoga-routine-to-help-you-sleep/), or jotting down reminders and worries on a pad of paper so you don’t carry them with you into dreamland). **Refresh your workout schedule** “If [exercise relaxes you](http://news.health.com/2013/03/04/exercise-leads-to-better-sleep-poll/), the extra hour of evening light we get in March gives you more opportunity to get outside to exercise,” Breus says. “Just remember to keep a three-hour window between your sweat session and bedtime so you have plenty of time to wind down.” On the other hand, if your workouts jazz you up, “you should keep doing them in the morning, time change or not, because you don’t want that energy boost to lead to insomnia,” Breus says. **_Health.com:_** [_7 Best White Noise Machines for a Good Night’s Sleep_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20961823,00.html?xid=time) **Stay safe on the roads** This is one day out of the year when Breus advises seeking some flexibility on your morning commute, particularly if you drive. “Ask your boss if you can come in to work a little late the Monday after the time change, or ask if you can work from home.” Research has shown the Monday after the spring time change to be particularly [dangerous for drivers](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11152980) relative to other Mondays through the year. “It’s not a bad idea to avoid rush hour on Monday morning when roads will be filled with sleep-deprived people running late for work or school,” Breus says. Just remember: even though it takes a little work up front to get down with Daylight Saving Time, the payoff—longer spring and summer nights—is always worth it. 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