Daylight Savings
Daylight Savings Transition
Can you believe daylight savings start this weekend? Daylight Savings start on 4th of April (except for WA, NT, QLD) and if you are worried about transition, don’t be!
Before we move into ways to transition, it’s important we understand what the word “circadian rhythm” is.
Circadian Rhythm
Our babies have an internal biological clock that gets reset everyday by 3 things:
1) Light
2) Food
3) Social Interaction
These things let our internal clock know when is the start of the day and when is the end.
Daylight savings can be like a mini jetlag. However, even though it is only a one-hour difference in time, it does impact your baby’s circadian rhythm and it can take 2-3 weeks for them to get used to the new time and get back into normal routine.
As baby’s circadian rhythm is impacted by 3 things, we cannot just move solely just the “light factor” by delaying when they are exposed to light in the morning and moving their bedtime later.
To effectively have a smooth transition for daylight savings, we will need to move all three elements- light, food and social interaction all at the same time.
Preparing for daylight savings- what we can do
Method 1- Change prior to daylight savings
Move bedtime, meal time, play time and awake time 15 minutes later for 7 days.
For example, if bed is 7pm move to 7.15pm. And during the morning wake at 7.15am instead of 7am
Do that for 2 days, then shift everything for an extra 15 minutes every 2 days until you reach day 7.
Method 2- Change after daylight savings
Set April 4th as day 1 to make changes. Baby would wake up at 6am instead of their usual 7am.
Keep them in bed until 6.15am (their old 7.15am) and not expose them to light until then.
You would then repeat the same method above, increasing their wake-up time by 15 minutes every 2 days until you reach your desired goal.
You will spend the next 2 weeks catching it back on track to the new time zone they are in.
Summary -Take Action
Ultimately, do what works best for your family and your routine at home. Remember to keep it consistent and not change your method half way through. This gradual change in process of moving training their circadian rhythm to shift 15 minutes every 2 days will be a much easier transition for them to take. Remember to move the entire routine (including mealtime, playtime, and naptime) instead of just moving awake and sleep time.