Turning back Time: top tips to manage Daylight Saving

As daylight saving time draws to a close, many parents face a common challenge: How can I seamlessly transition my child to the new schedule without disturbing their sleep patterns? It doesn’t have to be complicated - In this blog post you’ll learn how to navigate the end of daylight saving time with ease, ensuring both you and your baby enjoy restful nights and not so early mornings.

Daylight saving time often disrupts the circadian rhythm as it involves shifting the clocks forward or backward by one hour, impacting the timing of our exposure to sunlight, food and social interaction. This change can lead to temporary disturbances in sleep patterns, particularly for babies and young children who may be more sensitive to disruptions in their routines. However, you can use the timing of sunlight, food and social interaction to your advantage to help with this change. 

If your baby is under 5 months of age, my advice is to not actively work towards shifting their sleep wake cycle. Why? Because their circadian rhythm is still developing. In this case continue to follow your little one’s tired signs and monitor their awake windows. This way you can help them adjust to this change without keeping them awake too long resulting in an overtired bub. Don’t be afraid to add in an extra nap throughout the day and offer this as an assisted nap if needed!

Option 1 - Gradual Approach

Consider making gradual adjustments in the days leading up to the time change. This gentle approach can help your baby's body adapt more smoothly to the new routine. If taking this approach, you will begin to push out their wake up time, nap times and bedtime by 15 minutes every 2 days. This means by Sunday their wake, naps and bedtime are an hour later than usual. 

Monday & Tuesday: Wake your baby/toddler up 15 mins later than their normal wake up time.

Wednesday & Thursday: Wake your baby/toddler up 30 mins later than their normal wake up time.

Friday & Saturday: Wake your baby/toddler up 45 mins later than their normal wake up time.

Sunday (daylight saving end): Wake will (hopefully) be 1 hour later - the ‘new’ time.

Option 2 - Roll with it!

Go with the flow and see what happens! I have never personally bothered with making any changes with my son’s sleep and he adjusted naturally to the change.

My other tips to help manage this time change:

• Maintain a consistent approach to all sleep periods. Just because the time is changing, this does not mean anything else about your sleep routine needs to change! Keep your pre- sleep wind down routine, settling and resettling techniques consistent.

• Exposure to early morning light and light in the afternoon before bed. This will help sync your little one’s circadian rhythm to real time and will be a game changer in helping establish the new sleep/wake cycles.

• Patience - it’s often not as simple as it sounds. It can take time for your little one to adjust to the change, so remain calm and go with the flow - they will get there!

As daylight saving time comes to a close, implementing these tips can help ease the transition for both you and your baby. By understanding the impact of the time change, making gradual adjustments, sticking to a consistent routine, optimizing the sleep environment, and practicing patience and flexibility, you can navigate this period with confidence.

Remember, every baby is unique, so don't hesitate to reach for personalized guidance and support tailored to your family's needs or if you are struggling with early rising, you can grab a copy of my early wakes guide here.

Happy Sleeping!