UVA Health sleep care specialist said most people will begin adjusting to the new daylight time soon
Dr. Scott Schecter recommends setting the same bedtime and eating at the same times as the body gets used to different light levels and sun angles
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – It’s been about a week since the change from Daylight Saving Time into Standard Time and a UVA Health pulmonary and sleep care specialist told reporters last week most people should be feeling better adjusted at some point this week, if not already over the weekend
“The time change can definitely upset your underlying schedule,” said Dr. Scott Schecter, MD, UVA Health Sleep Medicine Director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program. “You’ll go very quickly from one week to the next, and all of a sudden the normal times that you’re doing things, because most of the times we’re doing stuff in terms of working or any other thing that we have to do are kind of fixed, (will feel) a little bit out of sync.”
“The sun will kind of be in a different place in the sky than it was last week and a lot of times those internal cues can kind of throw you off a little bit,” said Schecter
He said the day’s light cycle does entrain the body’s day-night cycle, so it feels a bit out of step when doing the things during fixed times of the day
In sleep cycles that he studies, he finds people are able to adjust to their bedtimes pretty quickly, but it’s a week or so later before the wake-up times adjust
“During this time shift, a lot of people will find that they wake up earlier for that first week or so, and it takes a while to kind of get back to where they were,” Schecter said. “And so, for a lot of people, that kind of extra hour of sleep that you get the night we make the transition kind of gets eaten away by waking up earlier the next couple days.”
Schecter said one of the things a person can do is make their bedtime an hour earlier for about a week before the time change, but indeed it’s too late for that
Right now, a person can make sure they go to bed at a consistent time each night and wake up the same time the next morning. It’s also helpful to set the same eating times and/or exercise at the same time every day
“So there’s all those little things that entrain your day-night cycle,” he said. “Nothing is going to be stronger than light exposure, but if you’re having issues, kind of keeping things regular every little bit helps with those things. … One thing that “sets” your internal clock is exposure to bright light such as sunlight,” according to its light therapy explanation. “Light therapy is used to expose your eyes to intense but safe amounts of light for a specific and regular length of time.”
“Light therapy can help someone “reset” a clock that is off. Regular sleep patterns help to keep the clock set at the new time.”
The biggest concern Schecter has about this condition is sleepy driving, and that’s a time he recommends seeking medical attention
But he said people having issues more than likely will be adjusting to the new time soon
