We experience summers and winters due to the earth revolving around the sun. During summers, the days are longer days or in other words the duration of the earth facing the sun is more. The opposite happens in winters. In either case, our clocks need to be adjusted to adjust to this natural phenomenon.
The practice of advancing clocks by an hour in summers and adjusting clocks backwards by an hour during winters is called Daylight Saving Time. This means that in summers the day starts one hour earlier and you lose an hour of sleep. The reverse happens during winters.
For some, this transition or adjustment in the clocks is seamless. However, for some this might be a tiring and irritating period where though your mind understands that the clock has been adjusted, your body cannot get into the changed routine immediately.
The most irritating change that you have to cope up with in Daylight Saving Time or DST is losing sleep during summers. You need to get up earlier and may have to drive to work in the dark. This leads to tiredness and drowsiness through out the day. On the other hand during winters, though you get more time to sleep, earlier bedtime may cause problems in getting sleep.
Therefore, you should try and be prepared for DST. There are some tips that you can follow to avoid having a hard time during Daylight Saving Time.
The foremost thing to do is to get your body used to the changed timings. Try waking up early a few days before the DST or sleeping early in winters. This will help in better transition once the DST is introduced. Your body by then will be used to the change in routine and will adapt faster to the change in time.
Beside this, light has an important role to play with sleep. Melatonin is the substance released by the body when we feel sleepy. Light suppress the secretion of this substance. Therefore, try and expose yourself to light during the summers in DST. On the other hand during winter DST try and shut yourself in dark early so that, you can sleep soon.
If you are used to taking long naps during the day try and change that. Start taking shorter naps so that, you may get sleep earlier during DST.
Sleeping habits also largely help during Daylight Saving Time. Try and create a cozy and sleepy environment around you to induce sleep early during winters. Take a hot bath for example or use eye pads. Though it is not certain how diet affects sleep, but taking more carbohydrates may help to induce more sleep.
Avoid drinking alcohol since it disrupts the sleep cycle. It can affect the quality of sleep and increase tiredness and grogginess. Similarly, try and stay away from caffeine since it also affects sleep. Do not drink coffee in the afternoon as it might delay your sleeping time at night.
Eat an early dinner since it is difficult to sleep after a heavy dinner.
Keep your blinds open so that, the sun may shine on your bed in the morning. This way you can get up earlier and fresher.
Another common thing to do is to get up early in the morning so that, you can sleep earlier that night.
Try and keep a light schedule on the day of DST. Also, consult a personal trainer to avoid very strenuous activity especially if it is a Monday.
Finally, it may be difficult to cope up with DST but following the tips above may make it much easier. It will take a few days for your body to adjust, but if you try and prepare yourself before hand and follow a few tips, you will adjust smoothly with the change in the clock time.
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