How to help your child adjust their sleep to the “spare” time change

CNN
—

Sign up for CNN’s Sleep But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide contains helpful tips for improving your sleep..

“Retreat” can’t be a bad thing, can it? However, for those with children, the time change may be an unwanted problem.

While some people may be looking forward to getting an extra hour of sleep this weekend, many new parents are worried about how the change will affect their baby’s sleep schedule.

Clocks will “go” back an hour to standard time on November 3rd at 2am. On March 9, 2025, most clocks in the United States and many other parts of the world will move forward an hour and remain that way for eight months while we introduce another period of daylight saving time.

The current system we follow of “leap forward” in March and “fall back” in November was officially implemented in the US in 2007, but we have been “saving daylight” since World War I.

The legislative enactment of daylight saving time occurred mainly due to the use of trains for transport and development. It was adopted in Europe and the United States after the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first regulatory body in the United States, raised coordination issues related to the amount of electricity and fuel used by trains during certain periods of the year, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

At the time, it was believed that daylight saving time would help. save fuelbut many now believe that this shift is necessary to save energy.

At least two important components control sleep: stable sleep rhythm and melatonin production.

The homeostatic process is a self-regulatory mechanism that our body uses to maintain stabilityfor example, increased blood pressure during sleep. Adults may need a full day to create an adequate level of sleep, but infants may only need to stay awake for an hour or two before falling asleep.

The circadian rhythm is our body’s internal clock, which supports behavior and physiology in accordance with the environment. This invisible clock explains why we feel more energetic during the day and tired at night.

“During the day when we wake up, there will be a lot of sunlight, which suppresses melatonin production,” said Dr. Raj Dasgupta, associate director of the internal medicine residency program at Huntington Memorial Hospital.. “It gets dark earlier at night, so this will give us a chance to release melatonin and get our 24-hour sunny day more in sync with our circadian rhythm.”

According to scientists, this process can begin to appear in infants between 2 and 3 months of age, but it may take them more than a year to fully develop the circadian rhythm. British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Canada.

Because their circadian rhythm is still developing, babies and young children wake up earlier during the first few days after the November time change.

You may be worried about how to get your child to change time in one day, but don’t worry. It’s never too late to start.

One method parents can follow when adjusting their child to the time change is as follows: gradually shifting the family schedule back 15–20 minutes. every night before the time change. You can also use this method in the days after the time change if you did not have time to do so in advance.

You can also take advantage of your circadian rhythm by leaving the lights on longer in the evening and waiting until you turn them on in the morning.

If these hacks don’t work, don’t worry. Even if you don’t follow the transition process, children should naturally adjust to the changes within themselves. one to two weeks.

Sleep is different for each person, and each child responds differently to changes, so it’s important to keep your schedule flexible and give children options during this time, Dasgupta says.

Get inspired with our weekly look at how living well is made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter to receive information and tools designed to improve your well-being..