If you are anything like me, on Sunday, it took you awhile to realize that it was daylight savings time. In my particular case, my family and I were planning on meeting my son’s soccer coach at 11:00 a.m., so that he could put my son’s nickname on the back of a jersey. I looked at the clock on my oven and thought that I had plenty of time. I drank my coffee and enjoyed a very lazy Sunday morning. Then… I got a call from the coach asking which car I was in because he could not see me where we planned on meeting. Confused, I looked at the clock thinking I had an hour before we were scheduled to meet. It took me only a few seconds to realize where I made my mistake. Luckily, we were only a few minutes from the spot so it didn’t take us long to meet up, but I would have preferred it going differently. After that, I starting thinking about how how you could best get used to the hour difference and came up with these 4 tips:

 

  1. Don’t change your schedule: One thing that looks a little counterintuitive is to not go to bed earlier. Do what the clock says. If you typically go to sleep at 10, then continue to do that. You will probably not be able to trick your body out of it’s routine. That said, don’t give your body that break. If you are typically up at 7, continue to get up when the clock says 7 even though it feels like 6. Your body will adapt quicker that way.
  2. Get some sunshine: When you are up in the morning and your body feels groggy, remember the psychological benefits of sunlight. I know that it can feel like you will be doing more if you are at your station, but sometimes just taking a quick walk in the sun can revitalize you so that you are fully awake. Don’t forget that most accidents happen because people are distracted, and we need you at 100%!
  3. Avoid screen time before bed: The light of the television has many of the same properties as sunlight and is more apt to keep you up rather than letting you get to sleep.  In an effort to acclimate as quickly as possible, it would be best to give your sleep schedule every benefit you can so that you can go to sleep quickly and reach that all-important REM sleep.
  4. Save your workout for the morning:  As strange as it sounds to give myself an excuse not to go to the gym, evenings are not the best time for me to go. It is widely known that working out gives you endorphins which in turn keep you wake. It is far better to get your workout right after work, or better yet in the morning outside (in the sunshine), than to go right before bed.  

 

Using these four tips will hopefully help you be your usual super productive self, even “losing” a hour of sleep. Remember that we only have 237 days until we get that hour back!

 

 

 

 


About the Author…

Austin Ackerman is a Staffing Specialist at 4M HR Logistics. He has more than a decade of marketing and recruiting experience in the industrial and technical industries, working with clients in such disciplines as military, construction, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, and technology. He currently specializes in recruitment, marketing, and employer branding. Follow Austin on LinkedIn!

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