Daylight Savings Tips

Daylight Savings starts this Sunday and that means we lose an hour of sleep as we Spring forward. There are a few things you can start today to help ease the adjustment. In addition, as we lose the hour, we also gain some more sunlight into our world. This helps those who deal with seasonal depression. You may notice some of your friends, family, or even yourself start to feel better, do more, and engage more. Here are some tips to help you with those who was in a “funk” lately.

5-7 Days to Adjust

Before we get into some of the tips let’s set a realistic thought behind daylight savings. It takes our bodies 5-7 days to adjust. This means that on day one you may not be okay with the adjustment. Give it some time and allow yourself some grace especially with kids. They will get up on time if not earlier. The effects on those who are parents are hard. So set a routine now to help them adjust as much as you need help with adjustment. Consider the tips in the blog any others that you use for the whole family. 

Sleep Schedules

The first thing that will be interrupted is your sleep. Since we know this to be the case-start adjust tonight. Start going to be 15-20 minutes before every night. This helps with signaling the body. Although this seems unrealistic it really is helpful. The 15-20 minutes helps before you go to bed so that on daylight savings night/day you can be better rested. Start it tonight and do not wait until the night before. You set yourself up to not be as intentional with your sleep.

Night Routine

If you follow me on Instagram, you are already aware that I started my daylight savings adjust last night. I went to bed early and increased my nighttime routine. For instance, I wined down with warm caffeine free tea, did my skin care, watched about 20 minutes of television before going to bed. I also was able to do some journaling. These are small things that lead up to daylight savings night that matter. What you do to unwind is crucial to a healthy lifestyle. Last Friday I admitted to not devoting enough time to my self-care routine at night. 

Device Free-Daylight savings help

This is going to be a challenging task for many. One you shouldn’t sleep with the phone in your bed at night. I have been guilty of this many times. You should have your cell phone across the room to help you not do the nighttime surging on the web and on social media sites. I have a lot of my socials on do not disturb to avoid it. Instagram will remind me if I on my do not disturb to continue to allow it to be off. Another suggestion is to avoid even being on your phone at least 30 minutes before bed. If you are a parent and haven’t done so by now, stop allowing your children to have their phones in their room when they are sleep.

We keep their phones on chargers in the living room completely on a different floor from where they sleep. The light from the phone is a distraction. If they have the phone in their room, they will surely use it. 

Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol

In the last few months, I have been switching to one cup of coffee a week. This may not be doable for you, and I understand. However, what I have noticed is the decrease of caffeine headaches. I do deal with migraines often but have seen a drastic decrease in them. Instead of caffeine I have been drinking non-caffeinated hot tea. I really like chai tea as my favorite. Also eliminating sugars by using things like stevia leaf and monk fruit.

These are plant-based options that do wonders for me and give me the hint of sweetness that I like. If you are a drinker like me, consider doing things like mocktails. I can’t tell you the number of times I have indulged in a mocktail and those around me don’t even know the difference. 

If you see me do content especially at a media event my trick to getting a lot of alcohol shots in my content, is to collaborate with others. Many of my foodie friends and I exchange the drinks in hand to film, but rarely do we drink all the drinks. The medication that I take allows me to drink but I choose to take my alcohol content to a lesser amount.

Don’t skip Nutrition

So many people do not eat breakfast. Sometimes it has to do with time. Or others have gotten so used to not eating that eating it seems as if it’s more of a chore. We know how important it is to fuel for your day. Consider adding in a few alternatives to no breakfast like a smoothie, smoothie bowl, boiled eggs, or avocado toast. I also have been intentional on my snacks. I have my breakfast, breakfast snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. I try my best to limit desserts and eating too late. 

Do what works best for you. If you aren’t someone who cooks ahead, consider trying it for at least a meal or two. The time saved is a blessing. 

Daylight savings until they change it is here. Do what you can in small doses to prepare and add it to your healthy lifestyle. Also add a little more sunlight to your world. My doctor said my Vitamin D is low. So, I am choosing foods that have it, getting outside, and adding a supplement. Sun is a major source of joy, and overall health. Get some but do it safely. Ladies also change out your makeup for the new season. Time to get rid of things that need to be thrown out and more.