mar7

March 7th 2015

Waking up an hour earlier is no fun 

for anyone 

but you can make it less painful 

with these sleep expert-approved tips. 

Winston Churchill once described Daylight Saving Time as 

“an extra yawn some morning in April, an extra snooze some morning in September.”

Churchill is partly correct. 

Setting the clocks forward one hour for Daylight Saving Time 

— which happens tonight at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8 — 

results in an average of 30 to 40 minutes less sleep, 

according to studies using data from the American Time Use Survey.

But in other ways 

— and for certain people, such as night owls — 

the effects can be much more difficult than Churchill suggests. 

In a study of German adults, 

life satisfaction and mood were significantly lower 

after the transition to summer time. 

One study of adolescents found that daytime sleepiness 

can last for about three weeks after the time shift, 

and that night owls reported higher sleepiness scores.

The key to make the transition as quick and painless as possible, 

is to force yourself to get up precisely at the new wake-up time on Monday morning. 

That is, don’t allow yourself an extra half hour of sleep 

or an extra-long nap because of the shift — as tempting as it may be.

Related: Is It Possible To Sleep Too Much?

Don’t worry too much about getting to bed early on Sunday night.
Just go to bed when you feel tired.
“Where people start to get screwed up is that they go to bed at 10,
at 10:30 they’re still wide awake and anxious,
and then it takes them much longer to go to bed than normal.”
This can start a spiral of anxiety
and trying to catch up on lost sleep that throws off your sleep schedule
considerably more than the one-hour time change.
“When people tell you that it takes weeks and weeks to adjust to Daylight Saving, that’s normally what they’re talking about.”

As you can probably notice come Monday morning
simply by looking around at your coworkers,
some people adjust to the time shift more easily than others.
Research shows that people who typically keep a strict regular sleep schedule
and those who have a hard time fighting fatigue
take a longer time to adjust to DST.
People who typically don’t get as much sleep as they’d like
are especially likely to report sleep difficulties related to the spring DST change.

“We focus a lot on the bedtime in our society. 
We really need to pay more attention to the wake time. 
Once the wake time is set, truly set, bedtime tends to follow on its own 
— and with it, confidence and less worry about sleep.” 
In other words, even if you feel groggy, haul yourself out of bed Monday morning 
— and remind yourself that even if it feels terrible now, 
it’s worth it to help adjust your sleep schedule faster.

Another simple strategy 
to help your body with the change: 

Eat meals at your normal time, even if you aren’t hungry yet.
“Our bodies learn to expect foods at certain times during the day,
which can be called ‘the food clock.
If you are able to keep eating patterns and daily habits the same,
just shifted by one hour to adjust for the time change, your body will quickly adjust to DST.”

Exposure to light is an even more powerful bodily time cue.
Going outside is best,
but a lot of times when you’re getting up this time of year it’s still very dark.
If you can, hit the gym in the morning. 
Not only do gyms typically have very bright lighting, 
but physical activity can also help wake you up.

“Get up, eat breakfast even if you’re not that hungry for it,
expose yourself to light, get some exercise — you’ll adjust in no time.”

Me? who knows.

I am a vampire after all..... 

so according to this article...... 

I am screwed!

Today was busy.

A crop from 9-4.

Came home and fell asleep till 8.

Went to bed at 9:30.

Played cards with John and Judy 

and now it is time for sleep.

Good night from John Street