Time Change Troubles: Why Does Daylight Savings Make Us So Groggy in ND?
Is there anyone who actually loves daylight savings time? Losing that precious hour of sleep feels like a rite of seasonal passage. We may not technically lose an hour, but tell that to anyone trying to fall asleep an hour earlier—it's as if our internal clocks just laugh in response.
But the good news? Daylight savings ends on November 3, 2024, giving us back that lovely, long-awaited hour of sleep as we return to standard time. Our alarms get to ring an hour later, and we might just feel a little more human.
Of course, “springing forward” is a different story, requiring a bit more effort to recalibrate. And it turns out the grogginess isn’t just in our heads. According to studies, time changes can throw off our circadian rhythms, affecting our mood, sleep, and even our appetite. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health also links this stress to a spike in inflammation, and some research even suggests a jump in traffic accidents after the time change. Yikes!
So, how can we handle these clock shifts a little more smoothly? Here are a few quick tips:
- Ease into the change: Adjust your sleep by 10–15 minutes each night in the days leading up to the time change.
- Sneak in a nap: A short 20–30 minute power nap can help ease the transition.
- Soak up some morning sun: Exposure to light in the morning helps stabilize your internal clock.
- Skip that late coffee: Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime to get a better night’s sleep.
With any luck, these small tweaks will help all of us adjust and make time change a little easier for us all!