On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins. Today, Parents Ask expert Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution offers tips for making an easy adjustment.

Q: We’re about to change our clocks ahead for daylight saving time. I know it’s only an hour, and it may be my imagination, but the change seems to upset our routine for weeks. When it comes to my children’s nap and bed times what’s the best way to deal with the time change?



Elizabeth Pantley:

It’s not your imagination! About 70% of people find that their sleep schedule is off for a while after the time adjustment. The re-setting of our watches disrupts our physical rhythm – since you can’t push a button to change your biological clock.



It can help just to know that it’s normal to take a few days to a week or even longer to adjust to the time change, so have a little patience with yourself and your children until your biological rhythms catch up with the clock on the wall. 

Here are a few tips that can help you make a quicker adjustment:



•    Take advantage of the power of light and dark to re-set your body clocks. Keep the house dimly lit in the hour before bedtime, and turn on some bright lights for the first hour after you wake up in the morning. 


•    If your children aren’t tired because you’re putting them to bed an hour earlier than usual, extend your pre-bed reading time. Reading can help a child calm down and feel drowsy. Add some quiet music to help set the sleepy-stage.


•    Pay attention to details like nap times and meal times, since those routine events can also affect bed time.


•    Make certain your kids get in enough afternoon exercise – outside whenever possible.


•    Offer sleep-aid foods in the evening, such as oatmeal, bananas, cottage cheese, yogurt or turkey. Avoid foods that rev your kids up – such as sugar, soda, chocolate or red meat in the hour or two before bedtime. 


•    Just because the clocks officially change at 2:00 AM doesn’t mean you have to change yours at that time.  Many people change their clocks first thing in the morning, which can jolt your system when you realize you’re suddenly one hour off. Instead, change your clocks mid-afternoon before the time actually changes. That way you’ll have a made part of the adjustment to the new time before it actually affects your child’s bed time. You’ll have adjusted nap time and the evening meal to the new clock, which will help the bed time adjustment flow more smoothly.


•    If you and your child are having bedtime problems already, and the change in time might make things worse, see if you can split the hour difference into 15 minute increments for four days up to the actual time change. Since most toddlers and preschoolers can’t tell time you can simply write down the bedtimes for the week in advance and just begin your bedtime routine at the adjusted time each night. 


•    A safety reminder! It’s a good idea to change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change your clocks.