Remember to Spring Forward!

I know it’s not officially spring for a couple of weeks, but getting an extra hour of daylight is cause for celebration in my book. So don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you go to bed Saturday night. And then let the sun shine!

Of course, there is a drawback to starting Daylight Saving Time and losing that hour. More than likely, your sleep schedule will take a few days to adjust, and Monday morning you may be dragging as you try to start your day an hour earlier.

Studies show that there’s an increase in car accidents on the Monday after Daylight Saving Time takes effect. Driving while sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

So help yourself enjoy the longer days by following these steps this weekend:

• Set an alarm so you wake up a half hour earlier than normal Saturday, then add an extra half hour to that Sunday morning.
• Go to bed half an hour earlier Saturday night, then add an extra half hour to that Sunday night.
• Take advantage of the extra hour of daylight on Sunday evening, and take a nice long walk after dinner. Exercise will tire you out and help you sleep better.
• Whatever you do, don’t nap! You want to be able to go to sleep on time Sunday night, and napping will ruin those plans for sure.

And don’t worry too much if you don’t feel like your usual perky self at the beginning of the week. Your body will adjust before you know it, and you’ll be back in the swing of things in no time at all!

Get Extra “D” During Standard Time

Last weekend, we finally got to make up for that hour we lost last March when daylight savings time began. And I’ll tell you what — that extra hour of sleep Sunday morning made me feel like a million bucks!

And I’m not the only one. Studies show that there are fewer car accidents during the week after we set our clocks back in the fall. After getting a little more rest over the weekend, rush hour commuters are far more alert than they are in the spring, when daylight savings time begins.

But for some folks, the benefits of that extra hour are overshadowed by increasingly shorter days with less and less sunlight, and the thought of a long, cold winter ahead. If this sounds familiar, here are a few things you can do to lighten up the winter blues:

• Use as much indoor light as your budget allows. Try filling your sockets with full-spectrum light bulbs that include all the colors of the rainbow and look much more like natural daylight.
• Plan special events that will keep you happy. Make firm commitments now, so you’ll have something to look forward to when the blahs set in. And if you can, take your annual vacation this winter, rather than next summer, and head for the sun.
• Get 30 minutes of regular exercise a day to get your endorphins circulating and you’ll find it much easier to combat the depression of a long, cold, dark winter. 
• Help your body make up for what it’s missing when it’s not exposed to sunlight: vitamin D—a.k.a. the sunshine vitamin. Milk is loaded with D, so drink at least one glass a day.

If seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a problem for you, try what’s called a dawn simulator — essentially a bedside lamp that gradually glows from dim to more intense light, mimicking a natural mid-May sunrise. Just program the fake dawn to start one to three hours before you awaken, and your body will detect the changing light through your closed eyelids.