Here's how to make the most of the extra hour when Daylight Saving Time ends

Daylight saving time ends in North America on Sunday, November 3rd. This means that the clock is set back by one hour and the time span occurs twice between 1 and 2 a.m. Theoretically, we get an extra hour that night, and therefore the popular belief is that people can sleep an hour longer. In practice, parents of young children and people with a regular sleep schedule know that this is a myth. There is numerous research that shows that not everyone benefits from the time change in the fall. Changing the clock by one hour affects our sleeping and work habits. Here are three important factors to consider when preparing for or recovering from the time change.

Night owls versus early risers

The dangers of the time change, including lack of sleep and increased workplace injuries, will be most apparent when we switch to daylight saving time in the spring. Still, a review of 16 studies conducted in 2013 found that the end of daylight saving time also disrupts sleep. Dr. Harrison, a lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, concludes that people wake up earlier and wake up more often at night after the clock is reset. The cumulative effects over at least five days or more result in a net sleep loss that is not insignificant.

The lack of sleep is particularly felt by early risers and fewer night owls. People have different chronotypes – evening types have a natural tendency to sleep later and wake up later, while morning types have an early bedtime and early rise time. Resetting the clock fits the schedule of an evening person because going to bed later corresponds to their biorhythm and they also like to sleep in. Morning people, on the other hand, wake up at the same biological time – someone who normally wakes up at 7 a.m. will wake up at 6 a.m. after the time change in the fall. Failure to adjust your bedtime accordingly will result in sleep loss rather than sleep gain.

The strategy for mastering the upcoming time change therefore depends on your chronotype. If you're a night owl, you probably won't worry too much about the time change. Going to bed later and getting up later is in harmony with your body's preferred rhythm. However, if you are an early riser, giving yourself an extra hour of sleep in the morning is less helpful. You'll probably be up early. To make the most of that extra hour, use it to get a head start on work, exercise, or do another activity that makes you happy. Of course, using this extra time in the morning only works if you go to bed on time.

Children don't read (social) clocks

Another crucial factor for your sleep is the behavior of your roommates. If you have children, they won't care about the artificial time change that Benjamin Franklin invented in 1784. Their bodies tell them it's time to wake up at the same biological time before and after the time change, regardless of what time the clock says. So sleeping in is a pipe dream when your toddler is ready to play at 5:30 a.m.

To ease the transition for toddlers, pediatricians recommend adjusting bedtime in 15-minute increments. It can be helpful to start on the Friday before the time change. Remember that before On Sunday, you want to put your child to bed 15 minutes later than usual (e.g. 7:15 p.m. if bedtime is 7 p.m.). After Due to the time change, you should put your children to bed earlier than usual (e.g. 6:30 p.m.) for the first few days and gradually move their bedtime to 7:00 p.m. over five days.

Your body is ahead of your work schedule

Even changing the clock by an hour affects your work week. When Daylight Saving Time ends, your body is still an hour ahead of your social calendar for about a week. This means your main focus hours are sooner than you think. For example, if you're usually most awake between 10 and 11 a.m., that golden hour now starts as early as 9 a.m. This is good to know when planning focus times, meetings or coffee chats.

In the week after the fall time change, you'll probably feel hungry well before lunchtime. At 12 p.m. your body thinks it's 1 p.m. Because feelings of hunger can increase irritability, it may be helpful to bring an extra snack with you in the first few days after daylight saving time ends. Likewise, getting up early can make it harder to finish the workday. Typically, concentration and attention decrease throughout the day, but starting your day an hour earlier will make you feel more tired in the last hour of work.

Most people need about five to seven days to adjust to the new schedule. Consider this when planning bedtimes and the work week. While night owls are likely to get into their element quickly, early risers may need to be more alert and go to bed on time to make the most of the extra hour in the morning.