If you are like most people, you must love sleeping and experience some level of difficulty getting up early in the morning to go to school or work. Some of us are unfortunately terribly affected by the seasonal time change and thus have to endure these changes twice a year. However, there are a couple of tips you can try to adapt to the new time.
Doctor Kelly Brown has conducted a study on sleep in order to better understand how we adjust to the seasonal time change and how we can combat some of its unpleasant effects. It appears that it comes easier to adapt our circadian clocks to the daylight saving time rather than the seasonal time change, which involves settings the clocks one hour forward.
Dr. Brown, who is a medical doctor at the Vanderbilt Sleep Center, has explained that human internal clocks have the ability to adapt more quickly to the time change that occurs in autumn than the one I spring. This happens because most of us tend to stay up late and get an extra hour of sleeping during the morning. So what can we do to avoid the negative effects of the change?
As Dr. Brown has advised her patients, it is always good to go one hour earlier than normal to bed. If you find yourself unable to fall asleep, you can try minimising the time, as in going to sleep fifteen minutes earlier than you usually do. You can start the adaptation process already since the seasonal time change will take place this Sunday, March 13.
Dr. Brown also recommends doing all activity that is physically straining during the day. Sunlight contributes to the shutdown of the plant that produces melatonin, which is the hormone of sleep. Furthermore, you should also do exercise more in daylight. However, if the day happens to be cloudy, you can occupy your time with other tasks from work or shopping at the supermarket, and thus reserve sunny days for exercising.
It also appears that while artificial light cannot substitute sunlight, it can help our bodies adjust to the new time. However, the light emitted from computers, TVs, smartphones or tablets should be avoided in the evening. Lastly, it is also recommended that you avoid alcohol or products that contain caffeine.
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