The beginning and end of daylight saving time can cause sleep problems
for parents and children alike. Twice a year we disrupt the normal
day/night (Circadian) rhythm which can lead to sudden sleep problems, so Dr.
Karp offers hints and tips on How to Transition Your Child's Sleep Schedule for
Daylight Saving Time.
Anything that disrupts the normal day/night (Circadian) rhythm can
lead to sudden sleep problems…that includes moving the clocks for
daylight saving time. Babies and toddlers are already prone to sleep ups and
downs, so it's kind of disruptive that twice a year
we upset their sleep (as well as their poor parents' sleep) when
we spring forward or fall back for daylight saving time. Fortunately, a
little preparation can really help to navigate this challenge!
Get a head start on daylight saving time.
One way to make daylight saving time a little easier is to gradually
shift your child's bedtime over the few days before the
day the clock changes. While adults may easily adjust to adding or
losing an hour, kids do best when we nudge their schedules in baby
steps.
READ MORE: Tips to sleep train your child
Gradually shift your dinnertime and bedtime routines.
Here's how it works: Every evening—for the four days before
daylight saving time—shift dinner and bedtime 15 later. (Four days tends to
work well, but depending on your baby or toddler's temperament, your child might only need two
days.)
For example, if your child's bedtime is normally at 8pm, four days before
daylight saving time, push it back 15 minutes to 8:15pm. Then, two days before
daylight saving time, move it 15 minutes later to 8:30pm. The day of daylight
saving time (Saturday), bedtime will be at 8:45pm. Sunday night, after you turn
the clocks back, your kiddo will be back to the usual 8pm bedtime. And of
course, as you're delaying bedtime by 15 minutes, you'll also want to schedule
dinnertime for a little later, as well.
Stick to your go-to sleep cues.
Already having a bedtime routine in place—with strong, well
practiced sleep cues—will make this transition much easier! Every step in your
bedtime routine—from brushing teeth, to reading books, doing "Bedtime Sweet-Talk,"
to pressing "play" on some low, rumbly white noise—can help cue your child's brain that it's
time for beddy-bye. Dimming your room lights by 50 to 75%
an hour before bedtime (that includes turning off screens or putting a
blue light filter on them!) also helps release melatonin (aka
the blessed sleep hormone) to prep your little one's brain for
sleep.
While daylight saving time—and the sleep struggles it can bring—is
something many parents dread, with a little bit of planning, the whole family
can get the precious ZZZ's they need!
Dr. Harvey Karp is the author of best-sellers Happiest Baby on the Block & Happiest Toddler on the Block and creator of SNOO, the safe baby bed
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