Spring Forward this Weekend... How does the time change affect us?

Springing forward, also known as moving to Daylight Savings Time happens this weekend. Clocks should be moved up an hour on Sunday March 10th at 2am.

For those of us who need reminders, go ahead and set a reminder now to prompt you to change your clocks an hour ahead before you go to sleep Saturday night.

This planning ahead will allow your Sunday morning to go much more smoothly. For those who fly by the seat of their pants, well good luck with that. Many of us use our phones as alarm clocks these days and most phones will auto adjust but most car and appliance clocks will need to be adjusted along with any manual clocks.

For those who are curious springing forward means...

• We lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of daylight in the evenings

• The average person gets 4o minutes less sleep the night after the time change

• Many of us will adjust to the new time by the Wednesday after springing forward but...

• Some of us will lag behind and it will take a week or longer for our bodies to adjust

• People are generally groggy and less efficient the first few days after springing forward

• A few folks may experience slight depression or mood swings

• While we may initially whine about the time change most of us love having 9pm sunsets in summer

To make the best of the change and get prepared...

• Move your bedtime back 10-15 minutes a night starting now

• Move your wakeup time back 10-15 minutes a day staring now

• Set a reminder to spring your clocks forward

• Plan ways to take advantage of the extra evening daylight

• Plan evening activities that are relaxing and peaceful so you can sleep easily later

• Spend some time outside in the morning light to reset your internal clock

• Create morning rituals to wake up and boost mood

• Get up a half hour later on the Sunday morning after the change to allow for adjustment

So some of us will breeze through the change with no problems but others will find themselves out of sorts for up to a week. You know yourself and know your body best so move toward with what works best for you to adjust and enjoy the wonderful hours of extra day light to the fullest.