Your survival guide to Daylight Savings: Fall 2023 edition!

Oct 23

I used to love ‘fall back’ with daylight savings.. In college, if it coincided with a night out, it meant an extra hour before the bars closed. After college, it always meant an extra hour of sleep overnight. Then I became a parent. It’s really too bad that our kids don’t appreciate the extra sleep that could come the night the clocks ‘fall back.’

When is the time change?

In North America, on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. (so Saturday into Sunday!), we turn the clocks back an hour.

In Europe, this time change is a week earlier, with the clocks turning back on Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 a.m. (same as above - Saturday into Sunday!)

Unfortunately, our children’s internal clocks don’t adjust the same way as the clock does. So, If your child is currently waking up at 6:00 a.m., the clocks turning back means they’ll be up at 5:00 a.m. Oh boy. If you’re currently dealing with wakes already in the 5’s, turning the clocks back can send those wakeups into the 4’s. Noooooo!

Don’t panic! Use the tips below to guide your child through the end of daylight saving time without them waking at a ridiculous hour.

Your Survival Guide to the End of Daylight Saving

There are a handful of different ways you can go about making a strategy. I recommend you consider your child’s temperament, your parenting style, and current morning wakeup time while navigating these options!

Option 1: Do Nothing

Yup, this is really an option! This one is good for:

Laid-back sleepers that accept schedule adjustments extremely easily.
Children that are already sleeping too late.

With this plan (or lack of a plan!) you just stay on your same clocked schedule even after the time change.

For example, if your baby or toddler was going to sleep before the time change at 7:30 p.m. You would keep that same bedtime (7:30 p.m. after the clocks turn), what would now be 8:30 p.m. in their internal clock. It may be a bit of a stretch the first day or two with some of their sleep being off, but after a week or so, your child should adjust.

This also works well for children that sleep in too late as it is, if you were wanting to bump their schedule earlier. If your child was going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and sleeping in until 8:00 a.m. but you wanted/needed to change their wakeup time to 7:00 a.m., then the time change will take care of that shift for you. You just start with the new schedule on November 7, when they wake at 7:00 a.m. by then making bedtime 7:30 p.m. that evening.

Option 2: Slow & Gradual Shifts

This approach is good for families with children who:

Are sleeping well, but are very sensitive to schedule changes.
Are waking too early already.
Babies on 3-nap schedules

I’d definitely recommend this for children that are more sensitive to fluctuations in their schedule and for children that already wake up too early. It is also good for babies under 8/9 months that are taking 3 naps each day.

With this plan, you’ll take 7+ days adjusting their schedule later slowly (15 minutes every other day). This allows you to to fully transition your child to the new schedule BEFORE the clocks turn back, so that when they do, your child is back on their original schedule.

For example - If your child currently goes to bed at 7:00 p.m. and wakes at 6:30 a.m. and it’s where you’d like their schedule to stay, you’ll slowly change their bedtime to 8:00 p.m. and wake time to 7:30 p.m. over the week or so before the time change.

How this looks:

Starting with a 7:00 p.m. bedtime; 6:30 a.m. wakeup time

Oct. 27 & 28: Wait until 6:45 a.m. to get your child out of bed, even if they usually are up & out by 6:30 a.m. Adjust all naps & meals to start 15 minutes later. Bedtime 7:15 p.m.
October 29 & 30: Wait until 7:00 a.m. your child out of bed. Adjust all naps & meals 15 minutes later. Bedtime 7:30 p.m.
October 31 & November 1: Wait until 7:15 a.m. to get your child out of bed. Adjust all naps & meals another 15 minutes later. Bedtime 7:45 p.m.
November 2 & 3: Wait until 7:30 a.m. to get your child out of bed. Adjust all naps & meals another 15 minutes later. Bedtime 8:00 p.m.
November 4: Wait until 6:30 a.m. (this is now post time change) to get your child out of bed. Naps & meals can be pushed back to their original clock time and bedtime will be moved back to the pre-time change clock time of 7:00 p.m.

Doing a slow & steady approach allows your child’s body to slowly adjust to the time change without any drastic changes to their schedule that lead to sleep falling apart. Ideally, it’s important to shift all parts of the day (naps/meals/activities) to help the body’s circadian rhythm adjust best.

Option 3: Middle of the Road

This approach is good for families who:

Have a flexible sleeper, but like to have a plan in place.
Have a more sensitive sleeper, but aren’t able to commit to the entire week of gradual shifts.
Basically most families! :)

In the 2-3 days before the time change, start adjusting your child’s schedule later (20-30 minutes each day, similar to Option 2). If you have a sensitive sleeper, though, starting this shift earlier is always better!

For example, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before the time change, adjust your child’s schedule 20-30 minutes later for their daily wakeup and all naps, meals, and bedtime. Once the time change is finished, your child may wake at their pre-time change time or they will at least have a much smaller shift to work through. After the time change, offer sleep at your child’s normal times to help work on moving their schedule to the same as before. Within a week or so, your child should move back to their original wakeup, schedule, and bedtime as before the time change!

Additional Tips as you adjust to the time change

As noted above, adjust all aspects of your child’s schedule (sleep times, but also meal & activity times). All of these changes help adjust the bodies circadian rhythm to the new time.
Utilize the sunshine! Sunlight & natural light have a big impact on resetting our clocks. Get outside in the morning and early afternoon to help set those body rhythms.
Optimize that sleep environment - one of the key parts of having a super sleeper. Make sure their room is pitch dark, comfortably cool, and utilize a sound machine to cover any exterior noises.
If you use an ok-to-wake clock with your toddler, make sure to adjust it each night to the new wakeup time!
After the time change, avoid starting your day with your child before their previous wakeup time. We don’t want to unintentionally reinforce the early morning wakeups, or they are sure to stick around.

Don’t panic, be patient, and have your coffee maker set! Even if you did everything to prepare, it’s still possible you’ll see some off sleep and early morning wakings. It’s normal for these changes to throw off sleep for a few days to a week, or slightly longer! Try to enjoy the early morning snuggles along with some coffee, as this too shall pass!

If early wakes before this time change are already the bane of your existence (or the least of your sleep struggles), reach out for a complimentary introductory call - let’s talk about how I can help!