Daylight saving time for babies

What is DST and why we do it

Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of advancing clocks during warmer months so that darkness falls later each day according to the clock and changing it back in the fall.

It was first implemented by the German Empire and Austria-Hungary during the WWI, starting with April 30, 1916, mainly to save energy. Nowadays only a minority of the world’s population uses this practice while most of Asia and Africa generally do not observe it.

Moreover, it is not yet very clear if we really manage to cut costs with these seasonal changes.

Daylight saving follows the rule: Spring Forward and Fall Backward, which means we set the clock 1 hour forward at the end of March and set it back 1 hour at the end of October.

For example on the 31st of March 2024, in the Northern hemisphere, we move the clock forward. In other words, 7am on Sunday becomes the former 6am.

Then in autumn, on the 27th of October 2024, in the Northern hemisphere, we need to move the clock backwards. In other words, 7am on Sunday becomes actually the former 8am.

Time change & sleep

In practice, our technology today makes this shift automatically, more or less and we just need to find a way to adjust our internal clock to this change.

Changing time could be quite a stressful period for many people and especially for children who are more in sync with nature and their natural biorhythm.

Our circadian rhythm which consists of physical, mental and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hour cycle, is influenced by external factors (light and darkness, food, social interaction) which is why when daylight savings hit, we need time to adjust.

Even if DST could disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment and sleep patterns, most adults manage to adjust to this 1 hour change sooner or later, with some risks though.

In 2020 the American Academy of Sleep Medicine stated that:

“This shift, by disrupting the body’s natural clock, could cause an increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular events, and could lead to more traffic accidents”.

But in case of babies following a routine, even a tiny one hour change can be challenging and turn their bedtime into chaos.

In this context, most sleep specialists want to abort this time shift.

How to make the transition

1. PRO-Active Approach

Start preparing a bit the field in advance like one week before the change.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS PLAN

Spring Forward – moving bedtime and naps 15 minutes EARLIER every 2 days

Fall Backward – moving bedtime and naps 15 minutes LATER every 2 days

2. RE-Active Approach

If you realised this too late and the daylight savings have already happened or you want to wait until the time is already changed, you can have a RE-active approach during the next following week after DST. This means you can push naps and bedtime 30 min. later or earlier for 4 days, then follow the new time.

For example, if your baby usually naps at 12:30pm (former 11:30am), after the DST in spring, you should start this nap at 1pm (former 12pm) for 4 days. The same goes for bedtime: if baby usually goes to bed at 7pm (former 6pm), you can prepare for a 7:30pm (former 6:30pm) beftime for the first 4 days to allow the baby to adjust its circadian rhythm. Then follow the age appropriate routine adjusted to the new time.

Besides, it is important to treat any wake-up before 6:30am (new time) as a night wake-up & to let your baby sleep until 7:30am (new time) for the next 3-4 days, after the time change. This way we try to make a compromise between the old and the new time, meeting somewhere in the middle until your baby adjusts its inner clock to the new time change.

Similarly in autumn, if you choose a reactive approach, you should bring naps and bedtime 30 minutes earlier for 4 days, afterwards adjust to the new time.

Other things to consider

Keeping all the other elements of your baby or toddler sleep routine similar, as much as possible, could also help go through this transition phase:

• Keep your bedtime ritual
• Make the room as dark as possible, regardless of the season
• Keep using the white noise if kids are used to it
• Expose them to natural light in the morning so they know it’s signal for starting the day
• Let them move & run and consume their energy outside, if possible
• Keep them in bed until the DWT (desired wake-up time) if they wake up too early in the morning
• Avoid screen exposure at least 1 h before starting the bedtime ritual
• Keep the sleeping room cool at night (approx. 20 °C)
• Use the same settling technique as before, if needed
• Be consistent, calm and loving, while setting clear boundaries, especially with toddlers who might try to push the limits a bit more 😉

All things considered, you need to have a lot of patience and trust your child that in a couple of days they will come back to the usual routine and healthy sleep habits, if parents follow the above mentioned guidelines with consistency.

If you need more support with setting healthy sleep habits and age appropriate routines for your children, I am happy to connect.