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Get ready to turn back the clocks — and potentially throw your sleep schedule out of whack.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks across most of the US fall back an hour, giving Americans an extra 60 minutes of sleep — but potentially disrupting their body’s internal clock, a sleep specialist warns.
“The clock gives you an extra hour, but your brain doesn’t read the clock,” Stanford-trained neurologist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Pedram Navab told The Post. “Light, wake time and daily habits tell your body when it’s time to sleep.”
The body’s internal clock doesn’t necessarily adjust so quickly.
“Your body needs at least three to four days to adjust, but there are ways you can help yourself,” said Navab, author of “The Alchemy of Sleep: The Science, Mystery & Magic of a Good Night’s Rest.”
He offers the following tips for transitioning to the upcoming time change:
- Keep your wake time steady. If you wake early after the change, get out of bed to avoid sleeping into the morning to compensate. Adding even an hour more of sleep will throw your body’s circadian rhythm out of whack and it will be harder to acclimate.
- Soak up sunlight. Get outside after waking and seek daylight in the afternoon as evenings become darker.
- Dim bright lights and screens before bed. Phones and computers should be kept in another room. If a person is used to keeping the TV on low to help lull them to sleep, don’t stop.
- Don’t force an earlier bedtime just because the clock says it’s time. For people who are sensitive to schedule changes, shift sleep and mealtimes to 15 minutes later each day for the next four days.
- Be extra careful during the evening commute. Darkness arrives earlier, making it especially important for drivers and pedestrians to stay alert.
Navab also weighed in on sleep aids and supplements, recommending melatonin over sleeping pills.
“I do not recommend sleeping pills. One milligram of over-the-counter melatonin is all you need,” said Dr. Navab. “Everyone should also make 125 milligrams of magnesium glycinate part of their supplements, along with Vitamin D.”
Dr. Navab also recommends a 12-hour overnight fast, spanning the two hours before bedtime, eight hours of sleep and two hours after waking.
Navab also offered advice on nighttime eating, suggesting people avoid sugary, salty, heavy or greasy foods close to bedtime.
“No candy or chips,” said Navab. “If you need something before bed, try tart cherry juice, yogurt, fruits or anything smooth or light, no heavy or greasy meals. They make your body work harder and keep you awake.”
Also, bedtime should be at a consistent time each night. Silence is best but if a person is used to playing the TV softly as a background, it could be soothing.
Keep a notebook by your bed and jot down problems and worries, then forget them until the next day.
“Write down four or five things that went right too,” he said. “It’s simple but it helps a person’s attitude.
“Your sleep is one of the most important factors in keeping your mind and body at its best. If a person doesn’t take care of themselves during a time change and lets their personal situations, medications or food get in the way of sleep, it will keep sleep away and make the next few days difficult to navigate.”
