Tips for Falling Back without Falling Down
Remember before having kids when the fall back time change meant an extra hour of much needed sleep? Unfortunately, our little ones’ internal clocks do not change just because the time on the clock changes. Their circadian rhythms (the natural cycle that our bodies follow for physical, mental and behavioral changes in a 24-hour cycle) are in charge. Therefore, if your little one is on a sleep schedule, falling back disrupts the time of wake up, nap time(s), meal times, and bedtime. It will cause your little one to wake earlier in the morning, disrupt nap timing and routines, and may result in your little one being cranky and overtired during the day.
Despite the challenges presented by the fall back time change, there are ways to be proactive to help this transition go as smoothly as possible. It is especially important to plan ahead if your child is already an early riser!
Plan Ahead: Starting about 5-7 days prior to the time change, start to adjust your little ones’ schedule later by 10-15 minutes. For example, if your little one naps at 9 a.m., on the first day of adjusting their schedule, put them down at 9:15 a.m. Every day or two push the schedule later by another 10-15 minutes until you get to the adjusted time. By doing this slowly, we support our little one to adjust more gradually to the time change. Hopefully, this will minimize daytime overtiredness and crankiness.
Cold Turkey: For some families it isn’t feasible or preferable to move the schedule ahead gradually. Also, some children can adjust relatively quickly to schedule changes. If this is the case for you, a cold turkey approach may be the right fit. Adjust the whole schedule ahead by an hour including meals, daily activities, naps, and bedtime. You may want to offer slightly earlier bedtime and naps than normal until your child adapts. Your child will likely be overtired the first few days to a week, but he or she will eventually adjust to the new schedule.
Tips for Falling Back:
Continue to provide an early, flexible bedtime: While we are focusing on moving the schedule back an hour, you can alter your child’s bedtime based on quality of day sleep, previous night’s sleep, and sleepy cues. If your child is overtired during the transition, you can offer an early bedtime while moving the daytime schedule forward to help your child adjust. An a well-timed, early bedtime helps children get rid of sleep debt and can prevent nighttime wakings and early risings. Bedtime should generally fall between 6pm and 8pm, but, during the daylight savings transition, it is a balance between moving the bedtime later and providing an early enough bedtime so that our little one won't become too overtired.
Adjust Daily Activities: Don’t forget to adjust all aspects of the schedule up by an hour including: mealtimes, playtimes, bath time etc. This can also be adjusted gradually 10-15 minutes at a time in advance of the time change.
Prepare for Overtiredness:
Plan out easy meals, order in, or prep some meals in advance and freeze them.
Simplify your schedule and routines.
Have some special activities or toys your child hasn’t played with in a while to pull out when needed.
Get to bed early yourself.
Get Outside: Getting outside in the sun helps balance and regulate our sleepy hormones such as melatonin and cortisol. This is especially important in a transition such as daylight savings.
Be Consistent: Once you make a plan, stick with it!
Set your Toddler Clock: If you use a toddler clock, make sure to set it to the new time!
