Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Time Change

Coffee Talk Thursday

Is it just me, or is it a little tricky adjusting to Daylight Savings time? (I really love the fall back switch to standard time, though). Here's what I love about it: the extra daylight. Here's what I don't love about it: getting out of bed in the morning. If you normally wake up at 6, now it feels like waking up at 5. If you're used to getting up at 5, now it's like you're rising at 4. It just takes a little time for your body clock to get adjusted. Same for the kids; although, in my house, they used to wake up anywhere between 6:45 and 7:30am. Now they still wake up at 6:45-7:30 (go figure), but it feels like 5:45-6:30 from what we're used to.

Going to bed requires adjustments as well. If your body clock usually feels tired around, let's say 10pm, until you become accommodated to the new time, the clock will read 11 before you feel tired (but remember, waking up at 6 now feels like waking up at 5). 

It seems like I remember hearing the best way to cope with it, for ourselves and for the kids, is to go to bed and wake up at the same time as usual--regardless of what the clock says. What I mean is--if the kids normally go to bed at 8pm, they will still go to bed at 8pm (even though it will feel to them like 7pm and they may not be entirely sleepy yet). If our alarm (internal or a clock) goes off at 6am, keep it set for 6am--even though you'll feel a little sleepy waking up an hour earlier than what you're used to.

This week, though, has been a bit off. The boys have been going to bed later--the clock pushes 9pm before we take them up. I've been tempted to sleep (or at least lie in bed) later than usual, simply because it's earlier than usual! We'll get adjusted, though. Just need a few more days.

What is your experience of getting adjusted to the time change?

2 comments:

  1. I personally like it when the time changes in the spring. Our almost entire province stays on daylight savings time all year round. But since we live so close to the Alberta border (like 20 miles or so) we go on Mountain Standard with them and have to do the changing twice a year routine. So when we are on Mountain (in the Winter) my parents who live an hr. away are on Central as they stay on daylight. As you can imagine, appointments etc. in the city are a pain and you are always checking to see if that is "Battleford time" or home time! So nice to switch when we are all on the same clock.... Debate continues as it has for years and years about the value of change etc. Govt promised a referendum on the issue and then changed their mind. So will have to put up with it. Dividing line is about 15 minutes to the east of us - so even for my daughters ballet lessons in the next town a half hr away, we were dealing with the time issue. When I used to work there, I could leave work and get home before I left! Go figure...!

    Denise in Saskatchewan

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  2. We are having trouble with bedtime here, Lil Sara will not go down until she is tired, and now that makes it an hour later, I might have gained daylight to get more done outside (love that) but have no time to do the things I would usually do in the evenings after she goes to bed.
    We are working on trying to adjust that body clock of hers...

    Good luck with your wee ones.

    blessings Kelsie

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