Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this info, from Sleep Number Beds,for blog posting purposes on this blog. I was compensated for my time, but I was not told how to post about it the topic. All opinions are my own, yours may be different.
Spring is mere DAYS away (I know it doesn't seem like it when you are 8 feet under of snow and at 10 degrees outside, but seriously, it IS!
So before you start charging out the fire extinguishers and turning all your clocks forward (whoever invented the button on the bottom of alarm clocks to make it automatically go forward needs a huge award, just saying), the folks at Sleep Number, and I, want to help you reset your sleep clock, with these helpful tips.
1. 15 more minutes To make the time adjustment easier, don’t boil the ocean in one night. Ease into the change by going to bed 15 minutes earlier than the night before, and do it for 3-4 days before hand. Do NOT stay up late- that just makes it worse! We have done this for a few years, and it REALLY works, even though it seems crazy!
2. Live in the future. On Saturday, live your life as if it's already an hour ahead. For example, drink your last cup of coffee at 11 am (because that is really noon). Since caffeine has an approximate half-life of 6 hours, you don’t want to consumer caffeine after noon as it may impede your sleep. Um ok, so I'm one of those people who can have ice coffee and go to bed and sleep. So for us, we try sticking to eating meals an hour earlier, watching movies or playing games and going to bed early, so we can trick our minds into thinking it is earlier than it is.
Do you know what time it is?
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| Courtesy of Pixabay |
And along with that means the dreaded SPRING FORWARD time change.
I know you just Sighed and gave a silent scream!
We never have a problem with the 'Fall Back' do we?
But that Spring forward always seems to get us hard, year after year.
But you're NOT alone!
According to new national sleep survey from Sleep Number, over half (54 percent) of the respondents don’t feel they are getting enough sleep to be at their best.
Add a loss of an hour of sleep due to DST beginning, and that sleep loss is even more evident.
As you and your family prepare for the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) THIS SUNDAY, you need to adjust your SLEEP batteries, just as much as you change the batteries in your smoke detectors (and why do mine ALWAYS wear out 2 weeks BEFORE DST kicks in? It's like Murphy's Law in my house).
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| Courtesy of Pixabay |
So before you start charging out the fire extinguishers and turning all your clocks forward (whoever invented the button on the bottom of alarm clocks to make it automatically go forward needs a huge award, just saying), the folks at Sleep Number, and I, want to help you reset your sleep clock, with these helpful tips.
1. 15 more minutes To make the time adjustment easier, don’t boil the ocean in one night. Ease into the change by going to bed 15 minutes earlier than the night before, and do it for 3-4 days before hand. Do NOT stay up late- that just makes it worse! We have done this for a few years, and it REALLY works, even though it seems crazy!
2. Live in the future. On Saturday, live your life as if it's already an hour ahead. For example, drink your last cup of coffee at 11 am (because that is really noon). Since caffeine has an approximate half-life of 6 hours, you don’t want to consumer caffeine after noon as it may impede your sleep. Um ok, so I'm one of those people who can have ice coffee and go to bed and sleep. So for us, we try sticking to eating meals an hour earlier, watching movies or playing games and going to bed early, so we can trick our minds into thinking it is earlier than it is.
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| Courtesy of Pixabay |
3. Put down the screens. Survey results indicate that people who use devices in bed are more likely to feel they don’t get enough sleep (51 percent). Always make a screen-free zone about an hour before bedtime, which gives the eyes and mind time to relax before getting shut-eye (and allows the sleep hormone melatonin to trigger sleepiness). If you have to, have your friendly watchcat be in charge of your phone at night, LOL. People in the Western region of the U.S. are the biggest tech-in-bed offenders, with 66 percent of respondents bringing devices to bed. Course I've found if you're reading, say from a Kindle, then if you have it on a dimmer page setting, it can still have the effect of reading a regular book BUT, do not skip over and check your email or Facebook, because once you do, you will re-awake your brain!
4. Monitor sleep to improve it. Fifty-eight percent of people wish they knew more about how to improve the quality of their sleep, yet only 16 percent actually monitor their sleep (versus 41 percent who track exercise and 43 percent who track diet). And, women are more likely to focus on improving their sleep compared to men. Like watching caffeine, if you monitor what you eat for dinner by how well you sleep, you may find that having protein before bed helps you sleep sounded and longer. But having sugar does the opposite. Once you start keeping track, you'll realize where you might be setting yourself up for a bad night's sleep
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| Courtesy of Pixabay |
5. Have a comfortable bed. It seems silly, but now if the time to make sure your bed is the right firmness for you. Getting older, having more joint pain, or even sleeping differently, may mean that you need a different type of bed! Or you may need a mattress topper, if your bed is perfectly fine, but you need some comfort there. Sleep Number’s SleepIQ technology offers simple solution to those who want to know better sleep.
6. End your weekend early! My final tip is to go to bed early Sunday night. You might get encouraged to stay up, but don't. Treat yourself to an extra hour of sleep and you might be surprised at how you don't have the "Monday Morning DST Blues'/
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