SAN ANTONIO – Many people are looking forward to the time change on Sunday, Nov. 3, but some may need to prepare more than others.
Louise Giles, a divisions chief for pulmonary sleep at Christus Children’s Hospital, said the human circadian rhythm is typically impacted.
“So when it is dark, we want to sleep, and when it is light, we want to get up and get on with our day,” Giles said. “When we do that one-hour time change, it changes what we have been used to doing the past few months.”
Giles said getting physically adjusted can be challenging, especially for students.
“If our sleep time is later, our wake-up time is later, but that doesn’t work with school, so we still have to wake up early in the morning, so it can be a little rough trying to get used to the time waking up,” she said.
She said teachers deal with the same kind of adjustment but with another layer.
“They are also dealing with kids who are going through this as well,” Giles said. “Some kids can be a hot mess because of the time change. Because of the time change, teachers are not only trying to teach, but they are trying to deal with the emotional impact and mental impact of that one-hour time change.”
Giles added that while teachers must be a bit more patient, parents must prepare, especially if they have children dedicated to a set schedule.
“It is important for those kids who need a strong schedule, etc. to maintain their mental health,” she said. “Like kids on the spectrum. Kids who need that schedule it can play havoc on their mental health.”
She said there are a couple of things you can do to ease into this adjustment.
“Adjust your clocks bit by bit,” Giles said. “Those 15-minute time changes to try to get them back on their time frame. The trick is to try to be consistent.”
She also said to use the dark and light to your advantage.
“If it is dark when you are waking up, put on a light,” she said. “Like a light alarm. So use light and dark to our advantage.”
Also, if you are going to bed and it is still light out, use blackout curtains or a sleeping mask to help.
Last but not least, have grace for others who may struggle more with the time change.
“We are all going through this same thing,” Giles said. “We have to give each other slack after the time change happens. It happens every year. Just be kind to everybody.”
