Who turned the clock? The time change every six months is an annoying problem for many people; especially if the time change is accompanied by sleep problems. If the change in times suddenly causes the weather to “clear up an hour earlier” or “darken an hour faster,” many people feel overwhelmed. Some people complain of difficulty falling asleep, sleep disturbances and fatigue in the days following the time change. You can now learn why sleep problems may occur with the change of time, how our biological clock works, and how you can benefit from this information.
So how can we all manage to live in the same 24-hour rhythm despite these individual differences in our internal clocks? External timers play a role in this. Like a wristwatch that has lost its rhythm, they reset our internal clock every day. The most important external timer is sunlight and the light-dark cycle caused by the seasons. There are other social timers in our age: hours and appointments, starting work or school, meals or television programming.
Can Time Change Cause Sleep Problems?
Our body has an internal clock that keeps in tune with external time. This also works with changing seasons. As the days get shorter in autumn and longer again in spring, our body gradually adapts to this. However, the time change interrupts the internal clock's adjustment to seasonal changes in the length of night and day. This causes our natural sleep rhythm to be disrupted. At night the body and brain truly recover; repaired, cleaned and sorted. If the alarm clock suddenly rings an hour early, the body is still in a twilight state and processes such as the release of sleep-wake hormones are disrupted.
In addition to this direct effect of the time change on sleep, some people also report problems falling asleep, headaches, difficulty concentrating, or low motivation in the first few days after the change. Such symptoms can be compared to those of jet lag. It may take many people from a few days to a few weeks to get used to the new time. It is now clear that serious health consequences can be observed after the time change, especially in the spring months. For example, after the clocks were switched to daylight saving time on Monday, it was observed that heart attacks and accidents increased.
Summer Time or Winter Time: Which Time Change Is More Stressful?
People who are particularly sensitive to time change usually notice the change more strongly in the spring months. Because in the spring we “lose” almost an hour of sleep; However, our internal clock continues to work at its old pace for a few days. Daily obligations do not take this into account. We need to get out of bed an hour early, go to school, university or work an hour early, and in the evening, get tired and fall asleep an hour early. But our internal clock is based solely on changes in light, not social timers. And after the time change, we get less light in the morning and more light in the evening. This makes it very difficult for us to suddenly start earlier and rest in the early evening.
In the autumn, bedtime will be given back to us. We usually cope with this time change a little better. This is because, for most people, our internal clock runs slightly slower than the 24-hour day, as shown in bunker experiments. It's easier to get up an hour later, go to bed, and then quickly fall asleep than in the spring when we suddenly have to go to sleep an hour early.
Who is More Prone to Sleep Problems Due to Time Change?
Late chronotypes (the "owls" among us) find it especially difficult to cope with the time change. In other words, people who like to stay up late in the evening and have difficulty getting up in the morning. And they make up about 60 percent of the population. Our social hours already run too early for them. After the time change, they have to leave even earlier in the morning, and they also get tired earlier in the evening.
3 Tips for Coping with Time Change
We have 3 tips that can help you better cope with the time change and possible sleep problems:
Plan light and time outdoors
Doctors recommend getting as much light as possible, especially natural sunlight, in the morning. In periods when the weather is not too hot: Time spent in the sun and fresh air also improves our learning ability and mood, and helps strengthen our immune system. These effects can have a positive impact on our sleep quality.
Adjust your sleep routine gradually
If you know that the time change causes sleep problems, start scheduling your bedtime and dinner 15 to 30 minutes in advance, about a week before the time change. This will allow your body and internal clock to gradually prepare for the new time and you will avoid lack of sleep.
Maintain healthy sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene means using certain behaviors to promote healthy, restful sleep. Among other things, create a pleasant, calm and dark sleeping atmosphere. In the days surrounding the time change, avoid late-night caffeine consumption and alcohol in general to help you sleep, and keep technical devices with artificial light out of your sleep routine.
When we talk about sleep hygiene, of course, you will have taken an important step for your sleep hygiene by choosing all sleep products such as pillows, pajamas, as well as mattresses and mattress toppers that we sleep on, from natural and organic ingredients.
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