FALL BACK: 3 WAYS TO ADJUST YOUR LITTLE ONE'S SCHEDULE TO THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
The end of daylight savings time is right around the corner! Before you had children that would mean looking forward to an extra hour of sleep. Now it means an extra early morning wake up and you questioning why we even still do this! Not to fear though. With a plan in place, you can seamlessly transition to the time change and get back to sleep.
Here’s three ways to prep for the end of daylight savings time so you don’t miss out on sleep. For the sake of keeping it simple and easy to understand, you’ll notice the examples are based on a “perfect” 12 hour night. This isn’t going to be the case for every little! Anything within a 10-12 hour range is normal so make sure to apply the methods to your little one’s individual schedule!
Three Ways To Prepare Your Baby or Child For The End of Daylight Savings Time
Method One - When You Have Some Time or Are In Need of a Slower Transition
The week leading up to the end of daylight savings, slowly shift your little one’s schedule by 10 minutes each day. Start by beginning your morning the Monday before the time change 10 minutes later than normal. This will then set you up for the rest of the day running 10 minutes “late”. Whether you are following wake times or clock times, ensure that you start nap(s) and bedtime 10 minutes later then the previous day until you are running an hour later then your normal schedule. When daylight savings ends, you will already be on the new schedule.
So let’s say your little one is 8 months and normally wakes up around 7:00am, and takes a nap around 09:30am and 2:30pm and has a bedtime of 7:00pm. The morning you start the slow shift, you will wait to get her out of her crib until 7:10am.
It’s important that you wait the full 10 minutes to start your morning, so that you are set up to successfully push naps and bedtime 10 minutes later as well. Your nap times will now be around 09:40am and 2:40pm with a bedtime of 7:10pm. The next day your morning will start at 7:20am, nap times will be 09:50am and 2:20pm with a bedtime of 7:20pm. And so on and so forth until you hit a bedtime of 8:00pm. Come Sunday, you will be back to your original timing of a 7:00am wake-up, and thus naps and bedtime will go back as well. During the slow shift, wake times and nap lengths will stay the same. The important piece here is that you are shifting the entire schedule 10 minutes each day.
Method Two - When You’re On A Time Crunch Or You Have A Very Flexible Little One
Looking to speed things up a bit? Whether you like to do things a bit more efficiently or don’t have enough time to follow the method above, you can still prepare for the time change! Two to three days prior to the end of daylight savings, shift your little one’s schedule 20-30 minutes later each day. The tricky part with a quick shift is to not push timing too much that your little one gets overtired and thus takes a poor nap or has a difficult night as a result. Sticking to a 20-30 minute shift, will help to minimize overtiredness versus a larger time shift, and allow for more successful nights and naps.
For example, let’s go back to your 8 month old that normally wakes up around 7:00am and takes a nap around 09:30am and 2:30pm. On Thursday, no matter what time the morning starts, naps will now be at 09:50am and 2:50pm, with a bedtime at 7:20pm. Ideally her wake up time follows on Friday to be at or around 7:20am. Either way though, no matter what the actual morning wake up time ends up being, naps are shifted again to 10:10am and 3:10pm, with a bedtime of 7:40pm. Finally, on Saturday her morning wake-up time will be at or around 7:40am, with nap times at 10:30am and 3:30pm and a bedtime at 8:00pm. Ta-da! You are ready for the time to fall back as she will now wake at or around 7:00am (what would’ve been 8:00am) on Sunday morning!
Method Three - When You Don’t Mind Changing Schedules Twice A Year
There is one more option when it comes to adjusting to the time change. That is, to do nothing! Some families simply shift their schedule twice a year and maintain a spring/summer schedule and a fall/winter schedule. The only thing that changes are the clock times.
For example, your 8 month old will now be going to bed at 6:00pm and waking up at 6:00am. This means nap times will now be around 8:30am and 1:30pm. Then come daylight savings in the spring, you will shift back to a 7:00pm bedtime with a 7:00am wake up time.
Other families find this option impossible for reasons such as their child is in daycare, they have older preschool or school-age kiddos, or they need to abide by their own work/class schedules. It’s up to you to decide whatever works best for your family and daily schedule. Or a wake-up before 7:00am is just too early!
No matter which strategy you choose to go with, follow the tips below to make the transition even easier on your and your little one.
And if the time change already happened (or is happening like tomorrow!) and you’re thinking oh sh!t I didn’t prep, don’t stress!! If you’re not cool with changing your schedule, just work through one of the first two strategies AFTER the time change until you’re back at your original preferred sleep times.
3 Tips To Adjusting Your Baby or Child’s Sleep To The End of Daylight Savings Time
Use light and dark in your favor. Our circadian rhythm is dictated by lightness and darkness. Therefore, getting lots of light during wake times and keeping things dark and calm during sleep times will help to reset your little one’s internal clock.
Continue your normal routines. Bedtime and nap time routines should all stay the same no matter what time they are at. It’s the steps in these routines, such as turning on a sound machine or reading a story, that help signal to your little one’s brain that it’s time for sleep.
Ask for help if you need it! There is absolutely NO shame is asking for help. Somewhere along the way, parents got the idea that they have to figure things out all on their own. However, careers like a Pediatric Sleep Consultant wouldn’t exist if that were true! Sometimes you need a guide and a cheerleader on your side. If you are struggling with any sleep trouble, related to time changes or not, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I offer FREE assessment calls to all parents looking to get more sleep.
