That’s right, folks! On Sunday, March 13, we lose that hour of sleep as we all move our clocks forward one hour. And when you’re pregnant and sleep is hard to come by anyway, that lost hour might be hard to swallow. We know it’s hard, so your good friends at Preggers came up with a few great tips to help us all get through the transition.
- Transition into the time difference gradually. – Get up and go to bed 15 minutes earlier everyday between now and Sunday. Taking baby steps toward the earlier day will make the transition a little bit easier to bear.
- Add a nap into your day. – Adding an afternoon nap for a few days will help your body adjust to the time difference a little bit quicker. Just make sure it isn’t too close to bed time.
- Keep your normal number of sleep hours. – It might be hard to convince your body that it’s bedtime, but it’s important to do so. You’re getting up early already, so make sure to carry that over to bedtime. Keeping your number of sleep hours and avoiding staying up that extra hour, will help you adjust to the time difference quicker.
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulants at bedtime. – You’re probably trying to avoid these anyway, but don’t be tempted. Going to bed an hour early might be hard enough, but adding caffeine will make it harder.
- Control the lights. – The body’s natural melatonin, which helps to induce sleep, increases when the environment begins to get dark. Going to sleep at an earlier time will be easier if the environment is adapted to feel more like night. One way to help induce sleep is to turn off all electronic devices 30 minutes prior to going to bed.
Okay, now that we’re all ready to Spring Forward, Preggers says Bring it On!
Are You Preggers? 